In Pieces
by Shockwave's-Apprentice
Summary: Wrim is the daughter of a computer enthusiast and programmer. She lives in a small town that no-one's heard of and has an annoying norweigion next-door neighbor. Imagine her surprise when she discovers her laptop isn't really a laptop. Wrim finds herself thrown into a conflict that involves the government, hacking, and a cop car, and only her craftiness will keep her alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This is also on my deviantart account: my deviant username is Wh1t3-t19Lightning. Please don't accuse me of plagiarizing myself; this will only embarrass you.**

**There are aspects of the television series Transformers Prime here. I tried to code this as a crossover, but that show wasn't listed. **

**ENJOY!**

**In Pieces**

_The silent figure glided over to its master's outstretched arm. The two did not speak, but each informed the other of the week's events. The meeting ended when an enemy came too close._

**CHAPTER 1: THE WANDERING LAPTOP**

I came home from school starving. My lunch period (class) is at ten thirty in the morning and it was currently four. That said, I made myself a sandwich and went to go get my laptop to do some writing. But my laptop was gone. The ordinary person would immediately panic, tell their parents and search for signs of a possible break-in, which was what I did—the first three times. After like, forty instances of this situation, I knew it would turn up sometime. I wasn't quite sure where it went, but whenever it came back it was hiding somewhere weird. There were no signs of hacking, and it wasn't damaged at all. It unnerved me a little, but not to the point where I was freaking out. I welcomed a good mystery. I craved adventure, but was not a fan of travel and possessed dietary restrictions that prevented me from going anywhere without at least four sandwiches and other food that travelled well. So books and media became my adventures. But my own ridiculous and impossible adventure had already begun. I just hadn't realized it yet.

The laptop hadn't been found anywhere in the house by nightfall, which was odd, but not unheard of. Once, when it was 'hiding' behind my chest of drawers, it took us five days before we found it. 'Us' is me, my parents, and blond foreign exchange student Clifford (Cliff) from who knows where in Europe. I think he speaks Norwegian or something. He calls me '"Wuh-rim" instead of Wrim. He does it because he knows I hate it when people screw up my name. He's like seventeen and steals my frozen yogurts from the freezer. He doesn't actually _live_ at my house; he lives next door, but my parents like him, so he's usually here. When things get hidden, Cliff is usually the number-one suspect, but when it comes to my laptop, he's just as baffled as anyone else. He _wishes_ he could hide stuff as well as my laptop. My parents were going out to dinner with some friends of theirs, so I was home alone. Cliff had offered to babysit, by I had insisted I wouldn't burn the house down so my parents declined (much to my relief). I think he went out with his girlfriend Daisy afterward. It started raining at around six P.M. I was bored without my laptop, and my iPod had recently malfunctioned so I had no music. I don't touch my parents' computers. My dad uses them for his job: he helps giant corporations with their computer problems. My mom is pretty much a human calculator and puts data into spreadsheets or something else about as interesting. If I ever broke my parents' computers (and I constantly encounter problems with computers so I don't even take the chance) I would be deaf from the shouting and red-eyed from crying. My parents aren't mean, they're just really loud. And I'm a wimp anyway, so… My activities for the night—in order—consisted of this:

**Walk around in circles thinking.**

**Draw my pet gerbil—again.**

**Turn on the T.V.**

**Immediately turn off the T.V. because ****_Johnny Test_**** is on.**

**Walk around in circles thinking.**

**Search for my laptop—again.**

**Play with my gerbil (much to his dismay).**

**Turn on the T.V. to see if ****_Johnny Test_**** is over.**

**Turn off the T.V. because ****_King of the Hill_**** is on and it's adult hour.**

**Write a little more of my story, then get writer's block.**

After all this, it was like, nine or something. My parents wouldn't be back until like one A.M., so I still had a lot of time to burn. So I stared off into space for around a half-an-hour. I was rousing myself to go and get some ice cream when I heard a quiet screeching noise. I didn't hear it too often, but I immediately recognized it as metal on pavement. I crept to the back door (which was in my room) on all fours, spidering across the floor so that whoever was outside in this downpour wouldn't see me. I nudged the blinds on the back door apart just enough so that I could see out… and froze. Most kids my age (15) in my position would either (in order of how often each outcome would occur):

**Scream**

**Run **

**Get a parent**

**Get a weapon**

**Call 911**

**Take a picture **

I went with the fourth option (but I don't know if you'd call an old plastic whiffle ball bat a weapon). I stood up carefully, dull yellow bat at the ready, and opened the door. The… thing… looked up as I stepped gingerly onto my back porch. Spray from the rain dampened my makeshift weapon, and would have blown my hair around had I not recently cut it short. The creature that stared at me was decidedly shorter than me, dull orange eyes gazing listlessly across the porch. It had a silver metallic body, and what appeared to be mock feathers on its… wings(?). Mock feathers as sharp as knives. It looked a bit like a vulture with a long, spiny tail. I wondered if it understood that my presence was meant to scare it off. I decided that holding a large object over your shoulder threateningly had to be a universal gesture. It stared at me for a minute, then spread its wings in what I at first thought was a defensive gesture, but reassessed as submission after I noticed the neon-blue fluid dripping off of the right side of its chest. I hate alien movies for all sorts of reasons, and the whole 'injured and you can't figure out how to help it' problem is one of them. Yet here I was, thrown head over heels into my own extra-terrestrial confrontation. I did not lower the bat. Too many horrific scenes of various ways it could kill me had been enacted in my brain for me to let down my guard. We stood there for about five minutes. My impatience was building as I became more and more uncomfortable. As far as I could tell it wasn't afraid of me, but the opposite was very true: I was terrified. Only when I realized its tail tip was a small, fully-automatic gun did I slowly place the bat on the ground. I backed away, hands raised in front of me in a pleading gesture. It took a step toward me, jerking slightly, right wing drawn against its side. I inched up against the wall. I felt the rain on my back where there was a leak in the porch roof. The creature continued forward, legs shaking, body lurching slightly as it attempted to take pressure off of its right side. I shrank against the wall, fear radiating off of me. The creature stopped about four feet away from me, placing almost all of its weight on its left foot. There was a sizable puddle of blue liquid where it had been crouching before.

"D…do you speak English?" I asked tentatively. It looked almost sleepily at me, then nodded. "What do you want…?" I was almost afraid to ask that question. More terrifying ideas bolted through my head. It swayed a little. I wasn't sure if it was going to answer me, but it murmured "safe, hide" then it staggered backward a few steps. It crouched again, neck shuddering as it tried to hold its head up. I continued to stare at it, now with growing concern.

"Dry," it hissed, "No… water…" I was at a loss for what to do. _Should I help it? What if it kills me once it's all right? What if it kills __lots of people__ once it's all right? What if it __doesn't__ want to hurt me? What if it __dies__? Would it be my fault?_ I shivered at some of the possibilities. I wished that this hadn't happened to me. But then that voice, that powerful little voice in every person's head that is their ideals, morals and strength spoke up. _Listen. You can't change what __has__ happened, only what __will__ happen. Make a decision now. And your decision can't be based off of keeping things normal, because your life will __never__ be normal after this. Never._ I knew I couldn't pretend any of this didn't happen because it had. Maybe things would get better later on; I just needed to get over the hill, so to speak. I crept slowly sideways toward the porch steps. Orange eyes followed my every move. I moved around the side of the house until I reached the gate.

"This way," I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "We have a storm cellar." It looked almost longingly at the door. "I-I'd let you in that way but I don't know what my parents think of blue carpeting…" It was an attempt at a joke, but it didn't make me feel any better at all. The creature slowly rose and spread its chipped feathers. It leapt off the porch and glided down next to me. I shied away a little as it folded its wings again. Its tail dragging, it followed me to the storm doors. I grabbed the combination lock and bent over it so that the thing couldn't see. I turned the three  
numbers: 4-18-26. The lock popped open, waterproof finish living up to its name. The creature leapt nimbly down to the floor and looked back and forth. I hopped down after it, closing the door behind me. I grabbed a silver padlock lock from the table and locked the door from the inside. I couldn't risk someone (particularly Cliff) barging in with my new 'visitor' here. Speaking of, the orange-eyed thing was surveying the storm cellar. It had a door that connected to the basement. I decided I'd have to lock that one too—and hide the key. The thing crawled its way over to an old tool bench and curled up underneath it. I almost sat on the stool in the corner, but then I remembered it was broken and couldn't support any weight. That would've been embarrassing. I rattled around in a box, searching for a light source. Bingo; a large bag of spare Christmas-light bulbs and a nine-volt battery. One bulb would overload, but I might be able to make a circuit of a few. I felt around for some wires and grabbed a handful. I found a scalpel (what the heck was that doing down here?) and began removing the plastic casings. Once I had twisted a few bulbs together with some wires, I searched out a pair of rubber dish gloves and twisted the first wire around the positive end of the battery. I made a ring with the other wire and looped it around the negative output. The room was suddenly bathed in purple and green light. I placed my makeshift lamp on a table and settled myself in a corner. The thing looked between me and my creation.

"Your father… builds things too… Fixes… things…" I stiffened.

"How do you know my father?"

"I-we… know lots… of things… about your family… Your father's clients… do you know any…?"

"Not really… I don't ask too much about work." The thing shifted.

"One of his clients… is us…" My blood ran cold. _Does Dad know them? Does he like them? Do they force him to do things? What does he do for them? _Them. The realization was like ice._ Oh shit, there's more than one of them! What if they come looking for me? What if they want to kill this thing? What will they do to me and my family for harboring an enemy?!_

"Um… 'us'…?" I realized how terrified my voice sounded after I said it. The creature looked indifferent.

"Us."

"How many is 'us'?"

"A sizable force." _Aww shit! It said 'force.'_

"Force? Like, war kinda force?" I asked, afraid of the answer. The thing looked at me.

"Wrim, if… I wanted to… hurt you… I'd have… done it already—aacck!" The creature's bent feathers had scratched its wound.

"How do you know my name?" Fear was steadily becoming defensiveness. "What else do you know? How long has my dad been working for you? Are you going to use anything he's done for you to hurt people?" Questions flooded my brain, one leading to another leading to another. "Are you going to hurt anyone at all? Are you at war? Why are you here (as in on earth, because you're clearly extra-terrestrial)? What galaxy are you from? Do you want something from us? How do you know English?" There was a large fluorescent blue puddle forming on the ground. The creature lay motionless on its side, orange eyes dark and tired. I cautiously approached it. I got down on my hands and knees so that I was closer to eye-level. It was still alive; its pupils followed me frantically. Now I detected a sense of fear; of loneliness. Its eyes flickered between me and its wound. "You want my help?" It opened its mouth/beak slightly. "Yes?" It nodded slowly. "Okay, what should I do?"

"Ssstop… leakkksss…" I looked around the room.

"With what?"

"A..rmor… Meta…l… Quick…ly…" My gaze lanced across the room, searching for anything I could use.

"Any metals in particular?" He nodded slightly and proceeded to utter a few clicks, obviously a language I didn't understand. But something occurred to me. Physics stayed the same, no matter what planet you were on. "Do you know the periodic table of elements?"

"Not…English…"

"No, I just need to know the element's atomic number." I grabbed a framed periodic table off the tool bench.

"T..twenty… two… best…" I swore.

"That's Titanium. I don't think we have any of that. Does twenty-six work? That's in like, everything."

"…work until… better… yes… please… quick…" I found a bunch of sheet metal over in the corner and a blowtorch (Cliff sometimes stored his tools down here because his mom doesn't like them in the house). I searched for a lighter, but couldn't find one. I remembered my light source and un-looped (while shocking myself a little) the negative end. I placed the blowtorch next to it and moved the loop close enough to the charge until it arced. The torch sprang to life. I dragged a piece of metal over to the limp form of the creature.

"This is an alloy with twenty-six in it. It's stronger than pure iron. Is that okay?" The thing's voice was faded and weak.

"Yes… no… matter… please… please… fix… anything… do… anything… pain not probl—aaaghh…" it sank to the floor, unconscious. This was very uncomfortable for me. I didn't know if what I was doing was right. But then again, if I did nothing, the creature would bleed—or, as it put it, leak—to death. I cut a corner of sheet metal, grabbing gardening gloves while I was at it. I used multiple pieces of metal to try to increase flexibility, but it didn't really matter. Once I'd melted the last piece on, I had a look at the creature's wings. In some places the feathers were ripped halfway through. I couldn't fix bent metal. At which point, I wondered… fix anything, it'd said… Better to work while it was still unconscious.

I never thought I'd end up as a blacksmith, especially not at age 15. But I can say, looking back, that that was the day I started to become one. I'm very good at building things, and it didn't take too much practice for me to figure out the basics. I used a few random hammers lying around to flatten any bent feathers once I'd used the blowtorch to heat them. I had nearly finished the creature's right wing (which was the worst, the left seemed okay), when it stirred.

"Hey, hey, hold still. I'm almost done." I finished welding the feather back into place. In order to get them flat, I'd had to remove them and place them on a flat surface… namely, the floor. The whole room smelled like molten metal. I was just glad that there wasn't a smoke detector in there. The creature flinched as I poured a little water on the glowing metal. "Relax, it's just to cool it off. Okay, be careful, it's still a little fragile…" The creature staggered to its feet and nearly passed out again. I grabbed it. "Whoa whoa whoa, fluids loss, buddy, _major_ fluids loss. Lie down, alright?" It flopped on the ground next to me. "It's going to take you a while to get your strength back. Do you eat anything?"

"Nothing… you have… on hand…" I sighed. I looked at my watch. "Oh_crap_! My parents will be home any minute!" What am I supposed to tell them?"

"Nothing… no one… knows… Secret… please… no… don't tell…" I had to agree. The creature would be hard to explain to anybody.

"All right. But I've got some questions. Does my dad know what you are?"

"No… we… We… hide…" I nodded.

"Are you fighting someone else? Are you at war?"

"Yes… long time, fought Autobots… now… leader usurped… few loyal… new leader… Destroy us… can't trust Autobots… better relations… humans… spies… need stay…secret… please… secret…" I nodded.

"Okay. How do you know my family? Like personally; my name." It looked at me, exhausted.

"Master… sent… monitor… progress… spied… report… attacked… Master missing… Me… injured… Others… don't know…" I winced.

"I'm sorry." The thing dipped its head. "How did you spy on us?"

"My kind… hide… pretend… something else… not know what… until shown… too tired… show you… later…" I looked at my watch.

"Okay, I have to go upstairs now. I'm locking the door so nobody bothers you. You have to be quiet until I come back, okay? Now I have to go look for my laptop. Darn thing always gets hidden somewhere."

"Will be quiet… Don't look for laptop… won't find… will… explain… when… stronger…" Its head fell to the floor. I walked back over to it.

"You still awake?" No response and dark eyes gave me my answer. I carefully picked up the creature and carried it over to a dark corner. I placed it in a large storage bin, but left the lid slightly open so that it could see that it wasn't captive. I slipped out the door and locked it. I put the key around my neck on a thin silver chain. I proceeded to shower and stuffed my burnt-smelling clothes in the washing machine and started the cycle. Any strangeness was gone. It almost seemed as if nothing had happened—until the cold key touched my skin.


	2. Chapter 2: I become a super spy

**CHAPTER 2: I BECOME A SUPER SPY WITH A FLAMETHROWER AND A FREEZE GUN**

I tromped down the stairs, essay in hand, key pinging slightly as it bounced against the bone in my chest. I approached the room. It was dead silent. That was a good sign. I thrust the key into the doorknob and twisted it open. I slipped through the door and locked it again behind me. Laserbeak was waiting for me. After he had, for the most part, recovered from his injuries, he had revealed to me how he knew so much about my family. He _was _my laptop. That explained a _whole lot_ of things. The absences, the crazy super firewalls, the weird programs on it… there was a long list. He'd explained a great deal of other things as well: his master, Soundwave; their cause; the others; the Autobots… I trusted Laserbeak a lot, but I did have to ask why his master's leader was trying to take over the world. He said he wasn't quite sure, but his master was an old friend of their leader's, so they'd helped. Currently though, Soundwave didn't seem so helpful as much as he did in need of help. An organization called MECH was responsible for holding him captive and, knowing MECH, they were probably taking him apart. I knew about MECH from Cliff; he got a subscription to a conspiracy website and there was actually some credible stuff on there once I fact-checked it with Laserbeak. Now though, I seriously needed to get my essay done.

"Hey, I'm back. You're not gonna like this." My companion clawed his way out of the storage box.

"What?"

"Essay."

"_Another_ one? By the Allspark, how many essays do they give you?"

"It's the end of the year. They lay the work on thick." He sighed, then formulated himself into a laptop and I spent a long time typing. Afterwards, I had to go to the library because my mom was making me return some books and I needed to do some research anyway. I offered Laserbeak an opportunity to get out of the house and come with me, and he (for obvious reasons involving cabin fever and small, dark rooms) happily accepted. After spending an hour and a half at the library reading, typing, fact-checking and searching for more information regarding MECH, we were, for the most part, no better off than when we started. Which is my pet peeve: doing work and getting nothing. I thanked the librarian for her help, and then set off for home; except there were these kooky dudes that started following me.

Both of them had blond hair and brown eyes, were around the same height and had fancy people clothes on. By that I mean dress shoes, suits and ties. I knew they were stalking me, but part of me just wanted to shout at them "Whose wedding is it?" But, seeing as that would seriously tick them off, I decided against it. I didn't go directly home. I went the other side of town for Starbucks, all the way from the edge of town where the library is smooshed against the woods. While we were at Starbucks, Laserbeak deployed a homing signal for any of his allies in the area (after I paid fifteen dollars for an internet connection). The guy just signed in with the password and took my money. After Laserbeak deployed the signal for good fourteen point nine six minutes via a virus to the wi-fi, we left. As we walked away, I asked if Laserbeak knew what keys the guy pressed so I didn't have to pay an obscene amount of money again. *89S45^7Y0. Simple enough.

The weird guys followed us all around town. I stopped at Walgreens and got a chocolate bar (appearing normal was getting expensive), asked the FedEx people if they'd gotten any packages for me (they hadn't), checked out the new bookstore (all romantic tragedies), used the bathroom in G.I. Joe's Toy Store and got Cliff another packet of marigold seeds to plant for Daisy from the Garden Shoppe (fifty cents! I can get them for _free_ at the car wash if I look innocent and cute!). I also searched through The Mother Load Computer Center for some good parts my dad might like, and apologized to Laserbeak because I couldn't buy enough of the flashcards with Titanium alloy to properly fix his plating. Unfortunately, we couldn't stall forever and I was getting tired; the chocolate bar had worn off. I suggested we head back by Starbucks on the way home. Laserbeak agreed, but expressed his skepticism that any of his allies had picked up the transmission, let alone been in a position to help. The guys were still tailing us four blocks from Starbucks when we turned a corner and saw a cop sitting alongside of the road. It was so fast I wasn't sure if it was real or just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I thought he flashed his headlights at us. The guys rounded the corner and the cop drove up to them and started talking to them. I used the opportunity to bolt. I could just imagine the guys getting frustrated. I darted around another corner. I could hear my stalkers shouting gibberish about protocol or something else ridiculous. I almost laughed at the stupidity if it all; it was like I was in a sci-fi movie. I hid in an alley. It was getting dark and my parents would probably be worried. I cursed stalkers under my breath. Right about then, a familiar police car appeared. I knew it was the same one because it had the same plates: 2 PNSH & NSV. I took a step back. I was a bit intimidated and I was probably out after curfew. The officer pulled up next to us. I elbowed my backpack.

"Friend of yours?" I hissed when I felt a jab back.

"Car?"

"Uh, yeah, no DUH."

"Read his plates."

"Uh… To punish and… Umm…"

"Enslave." I turned my head toward the officer. He didn't move, but spoke. "To Punish and Enslave."

"Why do I _not_ like the sound of that?" I hissed to Laserbeak.

"No no, it's all right. That's Barricade. He's a friend."

"Why don't you come out and talk to your _friend_, just to be sure."

"Not in public! People will _see_ me!"

"Will you two just get in? We can argue later." The passenger side door opened. I reluctantly got into the car. The door closed mysteriously and the policeman drove off. I removed Laserbeak from my backpack and he assumed his usual form.

"Sorry Barricade, she has trust issues."

"This coming from my family's former stalker," I commented.

"Put it on mute, both of you. I'm driving." I rolled my eyes. Everyone said that. Was driving really that hard?

"Okay, we just have to drop off Wrim at home, then we can search for Soundwave."

"Excuse me? And now suddenly I'm a liability? Ugh, I _knew_ this was going to happen. I'm slow, I'm small and I'm weak, but I'm smart! You gotta give me credit for that!"

"Look where we're going it would be highly dangerous for…"

"Oh yeah, and suddenly you're invincible."

"I didn't say that!"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU OR YOU'RE GOING IN THE BACK!" Laserbeak and I glared at each other. "Listen, Laserbeak," this so-called 'Barricade' began, "we need a human to bypass security. If the kid is willing to help us, we should take her up on her offer."

"Where are we going?" I asked, curious.

"MECH base. We need to hack their system to find out where they have Soundwave," growled the officer.

"Uh, how're we gonna do that?"

"Laserbeak can plant a virus to upload the information. We need you as a backup plan. Can you be a distraction?" A million ideas of possible distracting acts darted through my mind.

"Sure. Not a problem."

"Provided they don't shoot her on sight," huffed Laserbeak.

"…why would they do that?" My blood suddenly ran cold.

"Why do you think they'd shoot you, you're an intruder in a classified base. You're a witness." I shuddered. I wanted to help, but I had expected my funeral to be about seventy years from now.

"Um, by distraction, do they have to _see_ me?" A low chuckle resounded through the car.

"I like this one. Is this Objective's kid?"

"Yes. Not exactly a computer genius like her father, but resourceful and crafty." I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Uhh…?" was my method of regaining their attention. Barricade laughed again.

"No kid, they don't have to see you. But they damn well have to see _something_ or neither of you are getting out of there alive." I shivered.

"Can I get some stuff from home first?"

"Barricade, we must provide an alibi for Wrim to be absent. There are other factors involved." I assumed that Laserbeak was talking about my parents. "Objective and his partner will be uneasy and suspicious if their child is missing. I suggest you use your chosen disguise well. I will retrieve what you need from the house, Wrim. What do you want me to obtain?" I went over what I might need.

"Latex gloves, Gardening gloves, Cliff's blowtorch, a few small pieces of metal, two (full) cans of cryogenic wart remover from the hall closet, a screwdriver, a cereal bar from the pantry and a head-mounted flashlight from my dad's tool chest." Laserbeak stared at me and Barricade was silent.

"What, by the Allspark, is all that for?"

"Trust me, it's important. Oh, and a small battery and Christmas light would be good too." He sighed.

"From the storm cellar?"

"Yeah, but not the ones I've been using. They're too old."

"Oh all right. But this had better be worth it. I'll need a longer distraction, Barricade, I can't get it all in one trip."

Sometime later, we were driving down a back street and I realized I had no idea what Barricade had used as a distraction. Laserbeak didn't know either, so I started to ask Barricade. A low growl cut me off.

"Not while I'm driving." I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? Is it really that much work?" Another growl silenced me. We pulled up to a stoplight. We happened to be in the front. Barricade flickered his headlights and the light changed. We drove off. "Dude! You're not supposed to do that!"

"Heh." I rolled my eyes. I wouldn't admit it because it sounded really childish, but I actually thought that was really cool.

"What did you use as my alibi?"

"Later." I groaned.

"It that his excuse for not telling at all?" I asked my companion. Laserbeak shook his head.

"I don't know any more than you do." I sighed.

"Look, it better not have been something awful."

"I said LATER!"

"Sheesh, all right, all right. Temper temper." We sat there silently for about twenty minutes. There was an oil tanker that flipped over on the freeway, so we had to take a back road. Barricade grumbled something about humans' inability to solve anything quickly and I almost said something, but decided against it. It was dark outside by the time we reached an area that Laserbeak, in laptop mode, deemed 'satisfactory.' Barricade pulled over.

"Out, kid. We're walking from here." I climbed out and checked my backpack again. I put my headlamp on and buckled the backpack's two chest straps so it wasn't so heavy. Laserbeak assumed his robot form and hopped out of the car and stood next to me. Then Barricade transformed. That was when I realized that Laserbeak's kind were usually a **lot** bigger than him. Stuff made sense now. Like why it was possible for them to take over the world. Barricade (in robot mode) stood somewhere around three, maybe four times my height. He shifted his feet and rolled his shoulders the way one might stretch after hiding under a table for four-and-a-half hours. "Much better," he grumbled softly to himself. I turned to Laserbeak.

"How much farther?" He emitted a few scattered clicking noises and thought for a moment.

"I don't understand your kind's system of measuring distance." I sighed.

"Two-and-a-half miles," said Barricade curtly. "We'll continue on foot." We hiked up the side of a rise for about a half-an-hour and stopped just short of a warehouse. "Two guesses who," growled Barricade.

"Two? Not three?"

"Don't need three. Only a few people who'd bother with a place like this."

"How're we gonna get in?"

"That's your business. I'll try to lure some of them out here. Nasty pieces of work though." He shifted his feet and grimaced. "This isn't the first time we've met." I wondered what he meant by that. "All right. When you two finish uploading the files, sent me a comlink message and I'll meet you on the far side of that hill. Got it?" I nodded. Barricade slunk off to the other side of the hill, moving with surprising agility for a creature of his body mass. I would later learn that, by Cybertronian standards, he wasn't very big either. He had been a guard for some time, and then a scout. Now, he was just another renegade, along with Laserbeak, Soundwave and a few others. I had a brief conversation with Laserbeak, then, when Barricade threw a tree at the base (he claims it was easy. Yeah right, I've seen his heavy lifting skills. They're not much better than mine… in proportion to the lifter's weight) we crept across the ground to the side of the building. Laserbeak fluttered up to a window and, finding the room empty, broke the glass and slipped inside. I had put on a pair of laboratory gloves to disguise my fingerprints, but they were hard to get a grip with, and I could see no footholds anyway, so Laserbeak lent me his tail to get up to the window. Once inside the building, all my senses peaked. My adrenaline went nuts. Laserbeak pointed to a heating vent and I got out the battery and bulb. I lit the welding torch. Carefully, we scaled the desks until we could reach the duct. I melted the screws holding the vent in place. Footsteps sounded in the hall. Laserbeak and I managed to pull the vent away and slip inside. The footsteps were closer now. I took out a strange metal frame from my coat pocket (receiving a look from my companion) and fitted it over one of the cryogenic canisters. Finally, I placed a hose that connected to a water pistol inside the frame and pressed down. Yes, essentially it _was_ a 'freeze gun'. Thank you to Cliff for giving me the basic idea. All it had needed was a fix up job and a water gun. Four hisses later and the metal had cooled. No sooner had I scooted back into the darkness than a man came in. We didn't wait around for his reaction. We scuffled down the duct and into the building's belly.

We determined that I would stay in the heating core so that if Laserbeak needed a distraction I could do some damage. However, it was a short climb from the top of the vent where I'd burned a hole to the old abandoned catwalk. Laserbeak glided effortlessly over to it, but I had a harder time. Even with the gardening gloves, my hands and face still ended up sweaty from the blowtorch. I had almost reached the catwalk when my backpack nearly fell. I had needed to take it off to get through the vents. I caught the top of it with my left hand, but my right hand, already slimy with sweat and latex gloves, began to slip. At about fifty feet above the floor, that is _not_ good.

"Help," I hissed desperately to Laserbeak, "I'm slipping!" I felt cold metal talons wrap (carefully) around my wrist. Laserbeak wound his tail around the safety rail and hooked his right talons onto the catwalk.

"Give me the backpack," he muttered, and I managed to haul it up so that he could grab it with his beak. He dragged it onto the catwalk and pulled his talons back, bringing me close enough to grab the metal with my left hand. I clambered over the guard rail and settled myself, panting, on the catwalk.

"Let's _never_ do that again."

"Agreed. Stay here. I'll go access the central computers." He fluttered off, still a bit unstable on his right side.

I found a spot near the furnace and made myself absolutely still. I would wait for the signal. Laserbeak had also retrieved an old radio from my house. On the ride here, he'd tweaked it to pick up his comlink frequency. I turned it on just loud enough for me to hear and waited for the signal to either "adjust" something in the main cooling line (Laserbeak had pointed it out to me) or return to the scheduled meeting place. My signal came about ten or twenty minutes later, but not from Laserbeak. I heard a few guards come in below and search the room. The head guard got a radio from one of his co-workers to report to the data room immediately. I waited for them to leave the room, then darted over to the cooling line. Instead of just cutting a hole, which would put out my blowtorch in a torrent of water, I weakened the steel by heating it. The cold liquid rushing through the pipe would cool it, and the extreme temperature shifts weakened the metal. I slowly melted more and more of it away, standing off to the side so that when the pipe burst it wouldn't drench me and make me leave a trail. Finally I decided it was weak enough and melted a metal bar off of the railings and gave the piping a quick jab from my makeshift spear. Coolant erupted from the bottom of the tube and I disappeared to make something else break. I proceeded to "alter" the cooling line in two other places. I just melted a hole in the secondary line (it wasn't yet in use, only after some time did the workers finally realize what was going on and trigger it) and melted the lever for emergency cutoff at the hinge so it wouldn't turn. By now it was getting warm in here. _ One last thing._ I found a thermostat and used my one remaining cryo canister to cool the thermometer. As I expected, the vent began blowing hot air. I added the water pistol and put several more layers of ice over the thermometer. It would melt away too late. I hurried back to the vent and climbed back in. It was blowing hot air now, so I could barely breathe, but I managed to crawl to the rendezvous point. I could hear men yelling, and knew that the furnace was overheating. It was only a matter of time before something that shouldn't get hot caught fire. It took five minutes, but Laserbeak appeared in the empty room below, searching for me. I leapt down from my perch.

"_What_ did you _do_?!" he asked in amazement. "They all just _left_! …this place isn't going to blow, is it?"

"No, I overloaded the heating like we decided."

"_That_ got them _all_ to go in there?" I shrugged.

"Probably not. It's not worth hanging around to test that theory though; let's go. I don't like saunas." We broke out through the windows, Laserbeak acting as a living parachute for me. Once on the ground, we darted away into the night to wait for Barricade.

Laserbeak had sent Barricade the "fall back" signal from inside the building, but he didn't show up. We waited for around ten minutes, then got worried that something was wrong. After another ten minutes, we _knew_ something was wrong. We crept back around the hill and up to the rise where the base was and carefully snuck through the bushes. As we rounded the other side of the hill, we could find no sign of our ally. Laserbeak took off and circled around a bit. He came back about four minutes later, and grabbed my wrist with his claws and led me about a good half mile farther into the brush before he stopped to let me speak.

"What; what is it?"

"I can't find him."

"Well that's just dandy. _Now_ how do we get home? And I _still_ don't know what it is that he told my parents!" Laserbeak said nothing, only shifted his wings.

I realized that Laserbeak was carrying something about five minutes later.

"What's that?" He proceeded to lay out a few pieces of metal on the ground in front of him.

"Twenty two."

"Titanium?!"

"Alloy." I shook my head in amazement.

"You stole that? It's against the law! …you're terrible, you know that?"

"Terrible at what?"

"Obeying rules."

"What's rules?" We laughed softly.

A familiar car appeared about an hour later. I was exhausted but Laserbeak had kept me awake. Barricade drove up next to us. As one would imagine, I had a few questions.

"Where were you?" He didn't answer. "Why didn't you tell us you'd be gone? What happened?" He opened his passenger side door.

"Get in," he growled in a tired and somewhat pained voice.

"No; not until you explain yourself."

"Something came up…"

"Clearly!" I retorted. I was pleased; Laserbeak wasn't scolding me about giving Barricade a hard time, much to the latter's dismay.

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" he snarled. I pouted. Barricade growled and assumed his robot mode. He clutched his side, wincing. I looked at him, suddenly concerned.

"You're blee—I mean—leaking!" He grunted in response, shifting his arm in a vain attempt to hide his injury.

"So? Occupational hazard." I frowned.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Yeah, but we've got other stuff to do. Get you home for one."

"But you're hurt!" He fixed me with a confused stare.

"…I don't follow..." I gaped at him.

"You don't care that you're injured?"

"I can't afford to. There are other issues to attend to. Now let's go." He walked back toward the road. I shook my head. This was freaking me out.

"Is he _always_ like this?" I asked Laserbeak.

"He wasn't taught to take injuries into account."

"Wasn't taught? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It… it's been a long time since we've done much about minor injuries besides recognize them as a flaw in a strategy. He's a soldier, Wrim. He doesn't think of pain like you do." I shook my head again. This was getting disturbing.

"Do you guys heal naturally? Like, without intervention?"

"Yes. He won't die, Wrim, and that's all he's been told to recognize." I sighed. I followed my companion back to Barricade's waiting vehicle mode. He growled quietly as I approached.

"Are you going to let me drive you home or are we going to have another discussion about my lifestyle choices?" I looked at the ground. That gave him his answer. "All right then. Get in and let's go." He opened his passenger-side door. I climbed in and attempted to make myself small and insignificant; however, that was essentially impossible. After an hour of silence, Barricade finally spoke. "Though I don't—I wouldn't… prefer… to tell you, you do have a right to know what happened." I said nothing, only sat and listened. "There is a reason that all those MECH agents left the base, you know. They had a drone. It appears that they figured I would be a good test subject for its combat abilities. I did my best but… in the end… I had to run…" Here he paused. I sensed his broken pride. "They followed me, but I managed to escape into the canyon. Then they blew up the walls. I ended up buried." Laserbeak nudged my hand and adjusted himself in my lap. "It took me a long time to get myself out. Then I went to go check the meeting place, but you weren't there, so I had to go find you…"

"Uh, I'm sorry..." Neither one of us said anything for about a half-an-hour. Barricade pulled off the highway and onto the two-lane road that lead to my hometown. I was pretty much ready to fall asleep. It was four in the morning by the time we reached my walk. As I walked away toward my house, Barricade called after me.

"Hey kid." I turned. "I told your folks we'd detained you for trespassing. But we were asking you about some stalkers you said you were evading. Funny, doesn't your kind have that saying, 'the best lies are somewhat the truth'?" I smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Laserbeak can stay with you until we find something out, all right?" I nodded. He flashed his lights, then pulled away.

"Laserbeak, where did he say he was going?"

"He didn't."

"Oh. Are we going to look over those files you took?"

"I gave a copy to Barricade, but we can." I nodded slowly. It was funny hearing him talk in laptop mode. I climbed up the steps and mentally prepared myself for my story.


	3. Chapter 3: The gov gets nosy

**CHAPTER 3: THE GOVERNMENT GETS NOSY**

The days passed rather slowly after that. I had explained the scenario of the stalkers to my parents and switched out raiding a MECH base with being questioned. The whole thing seemed really complicated though. It _was_ really complicated. And it was only going to get worse. I hadn't heard from Barricade at all since that night, and, despite Laserbeak's assurance that Barricade wasn't in any trouble, I still wondered about how much damage Cybertronians could take before bad things started happening. But the bad things decided to happen to me before I could start seriously worrying: I got the flu and had to stay home from school. My parents didn't want me on my laptop too much, so Laserbeak hid in the basement. Then, on Thursday, both of my parents had to go to work, and they left me at home. That was the day Laserbeak finished decrypting the files. We searched through them. According to school regulations, I wasn't able to return until the day after tomorrow, but I was feeling quite a bit better. Good thing too, because a big, ugly black van pulled up down the street. As soon as I saw it, I was suspicious. It sat there for _three hours_. Laserbeak had hyper-enforced our wi-fi network's firewalls, so nothing was hacking our internet. That didn't stop them from trying though. Sixty-four times. At around the fifty-second Laserbeak got really curious. I told him that if we left the house it would be walking right into their trap. He subsided. After the sixty-third hack, I decided that we were going to figure out who these freaks were. Laserbeak needed another computer (he didn't want to be directly cybernetically facing them; he referred to the computer he would use a 'buffer zone'), so we settled for the old one upstairs. I only allowed this because my parents didn't normally use this one for work. We were halfway through the tedious process of establishing a secure connection so that none of the other house computers would be affected when I heard someone come into the house. I froze and almost panicked until I heard Cliff's voice.

"Hello? Sickie! Where are you?" I hurried downstairs and closed the door behind me. I found Cliff in my room, looking for me. "What are you doing up?" I shrugged.

"I feel fine, but my school won't let me back in until the seven-day wait period is over." Cliff nodded.

"Hey, have you been messing around with my tools? I found the blowtorch almost completely out of fuel and some of my scrap metal's gone."

"Since when have I known how to use a blowtorch?" Cliff raised an eyebrow. I tried not to look worried.

"Hey, I just wanna know, okay? I'm not mad." I _had_ actually used the blowtorch recently to remove the iron alloy from Laserbeak's old wound (which had leaked a little after the metal was off of it, but I had stopped it) and replace it with the titanium. Laserbeak and I had examined his opposite side and pre-cut the metal to the sizes it needed to be. It wasn't very flexible, and it definitely wasn't perfect, but it was better. There was no way Cliff could know what I'd been up to, even if he did mean well.

"…I was working on a project. Fixing up you're old 'freeze gun'." Well I _did_ fix it… even if that wasn't what he was asking about.

"Really? Did it work?"

"Pretty well, actually." He looked impressed.

"Huh, what'd you do?"

"Rigged your old frame with a water gun so there was water in it."

"Aww, come on, that was on MythBusters, why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're a Noob. Why are you here anyway?" He gave me a malicious smile.

"Because, Sickie, I wanted to keep an eye on you. See if you needed me to tuck you in or something."

"If I needed that, I'd ask your mom. After all, she gets practice daily." Cliff laughed, then said something weird in another language. "What does that mean?"

"You'll never know, Sickie, you'll never know." He left after I told him I was probably still contagious. He knew how miserable I'd been with this virus, and didn't want to catch it. As soon as he left, I darted up the stairs to go see what our progress was. My companion had two toes in the USB ports and cables ran from the computer to his own two ports on the left side of the base of his neck, which he had refigured to those of his laptop mode.

"What's our status?" One orange eye opened. He didn't move his head. His tail flicked at the monitor. I watched as the Cybertronian worked his magic. The connection was already established, and Laserbeak was sifting through a mass of files. Finally, he found one that created a link between the hacker's computer and another unknown machine. He traced it, then eyed me and gestured at the speakers with his tail. I turned them on. We were listening in on the conversation between the two people who thought they were listening in on us. I turned up the volume.

Input 1: —nna be a problem in the future if we don't catch this one.

Input 2: Don't worry, we're on it Agent Fowler. We'll catch her red-handed.

Input 1: I still think you should've let my personal tech support assistant help you. You never know what's goin' through the 'Cons' heads—or circuits for that matter.

Input 2: We have the situation under control.

Here Laserbeak successfully hacked their webcam. I actually ducked under the desk until his tail tapped me on the head and gestured that I watch. It was a one-way feed; they couldn't see us. I looked at the screen and immediately recognized my stalkers. They'd better watch it; I was already sick of them before this whole thing started.

"Dude, once they're done talking, let's _mess with 'em_." Laserbeak's eyes glinted mischievously. We watched them finish their conversation and waited about five minutes. Then Laserbeak cut their communications. I giggled evilly. This was going to be good. "They can't trace the signal, can they?" He gave me a look like, 'really?' and I smiled. He was a genius. Laserbeak sent about forty error messages (while I rolled around laughing) then (while we watched a live webcam of their response mind you) used an error message to say some things I will not ever repeat. Which prompted a reaction from the stalkers yelling amongst themselves using more words I will never repeat. Theirs were worse too. In fact, Laserbeak was so offended, he forced several key file storage systems to corrupt and shut down their computers remotely, which was essentially a crash. I just covered my mouth and stared. Those two were about to wish that they brought along that tech support. Laserbeak disengaged himself from the computer and announced that throughout the entire time he'd been uploading files. He said that once he'd decrypted them he'd let me read them. I informed him that he was amazing. He stared at me for a moment, then thanked me for the compliment. I told him it was a fact. He seemed embarrassed.

The black van wasn't there the next day, or the day after that. Laserbeak said that he'd probably damaged their computers. I laughed. Our fun didn't last long though. I came home from the last day of school and there was a man in a suit standing on my porch talking to my parents. I felt a wave of fear pass through me. _Is this someone from the government? Am I in trouble?_ _Scratch that; better question. How much trouble am I in?_ They hadn't seen me yet, and I longed for company; I didn't want to face this alone. I turned around and bolted down the alley. I went around the side of the house, dropping off my backpack on the back porch. I snuck over to the storm cellar and unlocked it. Now that Laserbeak was better, he had resumed resting in my room; therefore, I had replaced the combination lock and removed the padlock. I literally jumped right into Cliff. He seemed surprised. And curious. I told him I had an appointment and disappeared into the house. I went to go get Laserbeak out of my room, but he wasn't there. He obviously wasn't in the storm cellar, so there were only a few places left. I peeked into the dining room. Nope, not there. Not on the couch either. I decided I'd have to go it alone. But the situation got much worse when I stepped into the living room. My parents exchanged glances and the man gave me a look. I tried not to let my fear show. He was holding Laserbeak. Some sort of red glowing device was pulsing on the lid of the laptop and I did _not_ like the look of it. The man, pudgy, dark-skinned and dark-haired, looked firmly at me.

"Young lady, we need to talk."

_Fuck_.


	4. Chapter 4: never let the aut handle it

**CHAPTER 4: NEVER LET THE AUTHORITIES HANDLE IT**

I sat at the cold gray table awaiting the person who would be questioning me. I was surprised when a boy only a little older than me came into the room. I asked him who he was and he said he'd be questioning me. I commented that though I did feel more at ease around someone closer to my age, they wouldn't get much more out of me. He said 'we'll see.' He asked me things like how I met Laserbeak, what I knew about him, how much I'd seen, how much I understood. I answered only as much as I dared. I did not inform him of Barricade or Laserbeak's injuries, left out bits where we snuck into the MECH base, and did not include any information on Soundwave's current location; though I knew where he was. The older boy got frustrated when I refused to explain what the files that had been found on Laserbeak were. They were the MECH files regarding Soundwave and (knowing Laserbeak and his insatiable curiosity) anything else he'd found interesting. I just sat there until he threatened that the hackers would take Laserbeak apart and decipher the files themselves if I didn't answer. I couldn't take it anymore.

"You go and take him apart and you're just as bad as MECH!" He gaped at me.

"What? We're trying to _stop_ MECH and the Decepticons, don't you get it? We're here to help!"

"By dismantling the only creature that ever came close to being my _best friend_! Yeah, that helps _sooooo_ much. I _really_ appreciate it." He stared at me.

"Listen, the Decepticons are really… well, deceptive! They'll pretend to be your friend and then stab you in the back."

"Yeah, and what do _I_ have that they could _possibly_ want?" But my thoughts had drifted back to what Laserbeak had said about my father doing work for his cause. Barricade had gone so far as to call my father "Objective." But then I remembered the panic in Laserbeak's eyes the day I first met him, the loneliness. I remembered how much fun he'd been to be around. How he could've hurt me a thousand times over, but didn't. This kid could argue that that was part of the plan, but I wouldn't just _believe_ him. I needed proof. I glared at him. He sighed, then stood up and rapped on the window. They let him out and he had a short discussion with Agent Fowler, the man who had come to my house. He seemed like the guy in charge here. He entered the room, the boy on his tail. He settled himself in the chair across from me.

"Look kid. This is a matter of National Security."

"I don't _care_! I want my friend back!" He loomed ominously.

"Young lady, we only want what's best…"

"Then let him go! You talk about what's best, you talk about being against MECH; why aren't you doing anything?! I've done more against MECH than your entire government program!" His eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure you want to say that?"

"Yes I am! You give me some proof that you're addressing the MECH problem and maybe I'll give you a little respect!" I snarled. Fowler sighed.

"I think you need to meet the team." The boy seemed surprised at his superior's response, but kept his thoughts to himself. I was escorted to the end of a hall, then Fowler asked my escort to leave us. I freaked out when a huge green wormhole appeared, but Fowler shoved me through. I did _not_ like that. I felt like my bones were rattling in their sockets once I stepped out of the glowing green energy. I had a look around. The main room was really big. There were various hallways branching off into the depths of it, but I was more focused on the occupants of the room. Two kids played video games on the risen platforms, but they weren't nearly as interesting as the robots. A blue one, clearly female, approached us. She greeted the boy that had questioned me and they walked away, talking. The other one that was here was taller and a little stockier, and was red and white. He turned when we walked in and grunted to Fowler, then walked over to another room off to the side.

"Where's Prime?" asked Fowler. The other robot didn't turn to look at us, but answered the question.

"He, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are out on patrol." Fowler sighed.

"Whenever you need a bot, they're never around."

"What's that?"

"Never mind." The Blue robot and her friend, the boy, came back into the room. The robot looked down at me curiously.

"This here is my friend Wrim; also known as Loki's apprentice," said Fowler wryly. "She's here to meet you guys. She's been… reluctant… to explain herself."

"She doesn't look like much." That was an understatement. The boy smiled grimly.

"You weren't questioning her, Arcee. She's stubborn." I rolled my eyes. The red and white robot was talking to someone else, but I couldn't see them because they were in the next room.

"Wrim, this is Arcee," Fowler was saying. I turned to the blue robot. She smiled.

"Nice to meet you." I nodded in response. Fowler gave me a stern look.

"She's one of the members of the _team_ we have _working on the MECH situation_," he said, emphasizing that last bit. Arcee raised an eyebrow.

"What's the problem?" she asked. Fowler proceeded to explain about Laserbeak and me. The boy, Jack, added bits of info that Fowler left out. It took a while, but after they were done, Arcee was looking at me with new interest. "Wait, he didn't kill you? And you call him your _friend_? Hah, as if a 'Con could ever be a friend." I frowned. Why was this so hard for everyone to grasp? I mean, Decepticons were sentient too, however evil they might seem. "Trust me kid, he's just using you to get what he wants. And you don't want to be on the wrong end of that equation."

"How do you know?" The words just sort of came out of my mouth. I admit, I regretted them a little, but not enough to apologize. Arcee stared at me. The conversation in the other room ceased.

"I've met quite a few 'Cons in my time kid. I know what they're like."

"Have you ever met any on peaceful terms?" She looked at me the way one would look at an interesting hat. "Because shooting at them isn't 'knowing' them. You don't know a soldier until you've stood with him; whether he was originally on your side or not." Now Arcee was either worried about me or respectful of me; I couldn't tell which. Maybe both. "And don't go saying that he 'brainwashed' me. Laserbeak's my friend, and what you have to say isn't going to change that. Only he can." They all stared at me for a moment. Then the red and white robot came into the room followed by a familiar face. I'd felt so lonely for the two-and-a-half day's I'd been in custody that I almost jumped out of happiness that someone I knew was here. "Barricade!" I cried happily. He turned and spotted me, then gestured at the stairs leading to the platform. I trotted around and up them so that I was now eye level with him. "What are you doing here?"

"A fair question that both of us need to answer." My smile faded.

"They caught us."

"Who?"

"The government. Apparently they don't like it when you're harboring an alien in your basement. They have Laserbeak! They put this creepy red glowing thing on him and-what-am-I-supposed-to-do-because-I-can't-get-t hem-to-listen-to-me-and-they-keep-asking-too-many- questions-and… I'm kinda… scared…" I lowered my voice when I said that last bit. Barricade looked at me; he seemed like he was thinking.

"What is there to be scared of?" he asked finally. My gaze flickered to the floor.

"Well, I've been locked in a weird place with a weird room, and none of my stuff is there (they won't even let me keep a jacket), and I don't want to eat their food, but they don't care. I haven't been able to talk to anybody and it's been nonstop questions all day, and I'm worried about Laserbeak—they keep threatening to hurt him!—and I can't sleep because the bed's bolted to the floor in the middle of the room and I have issues with that and I can't use the Velcro technique…"

"…Velcro technique?" I looked down sheepishly.

"That's what I call my method of coping. I 'Velcro' myself to whoever I know best; I follow them around so that at least I have _some_ social status. But nobody here lets me Velcro and I don't know anybody anyway so…"

"So you're not happy with your situation."

"You could definitely say that, yes." He sighed uncomfortably.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about. There are worse places you could be right now; you have food and shelter. Think about that." I went over and sat by the corner of the platform.

"I guess I just wanted to talk to someone…" He nodded, more to himself than to me.

"Your kind is very… compassionate… toward each other; you're very social. You get angry when what you consider to be a basic right is violated. My kind is more… reserved. Willing to endure. Especially with most Decepticons like myself coming from the lower classes; we don't know any different." I frowned.

"Oh… sorry." Fowler walked up next to me.

"You know him?" he gestured at Barricade.

"No, I just had a very personal and emotional conversation with a complete stranger. Yes, I know him." Fowler frowned. Then he went off to talk to the red and white robot. I turned back to Barricade. "So how did you end up here?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"I… After I left you and Laserbeak at home, I headed to an abandoned warehouse to… err…"

"…recover?" I suggested. He nodded. I again sensed his injured pride.

"After I'd been there for a while, I heard voices. MECH showed up looking for me; slagging idiots followed my occasional Energon leaks. I headed out to the woods to try to lose them, but I only ran into their fraggin' drone again." I got the impression that if he had been human, he would've spat in disgust. "I managed to put a few good sized dents in the thing before it knocked my lights out that time. I came to a little while later and a couple Autobots including Optimus Prime, their leader, were standing over me. Frankly, at that point I thought I was a goner… until they brought me back here. Turns out they hate MECH more than they hate me. I still had those files from before, so I had some info to give them, but I hadn't finished decrypting and neither have they, even now. Laserbeak's a whiz at this stuff… but I get the idea you know that?" I nodded. He could read me better than I thought he could. He lowered his voice. "You know where he is, don't you?" Barricade was referring to Soundwave. I nodded. His eyes glittered. "I won't ask where; that's your business. As a veteran P.O.W., I'd suggest you use it to bargain with." I frowned.

"But they threatened to take Laserbeak apart to get it!"

"As if he'd let them."

"He's stuck in Laptop mode." Now Barricade looked worried.

"They have him in stasis?"

"I don't know what that is."

"You know all your sci-fi flicks? It's like Cryo."

"Oh. That explains a lot. Yeah, that kind of describes it."

"Wrim, you shouldn't worry so much about him. They can take him apart, but you don't think he has his own plan B? Or plan C? That little bugger'll have the files protected, believe me." I had to smile.

"After we figure this whole thing out… we're gonna go rescue Soundwave, right?" Barricade said he couldn't promise anything. "But… if we don't do it, you know nobody else will…" He sighed. I looked at the ground.

"You're very driven, Wrim. Be careful. That can get you in over your head."

"You're telling me this _now_? I don't think there's much I can do to stop it. Besides, I'm involved in this mess, so I'm going to stick with it until we finish it or die trying. That's how it's going to be."

"You would've made a good soldier." I looked up, startled.

"I- …thank you." Barricade turned toward the tunnel through which I'd arrived.

"Looks like the Autobots are back. Fowler's gonna want you to meet them all. I should probably wait in the back room…"

"Can't you come with? It's freaky when I don't know anyone."

"That's something you need to learn to handle."

"I _can_ handle it, but, given the choice, I would rather avoid it." He chuckled.

"Prove it kid. I'll be waiting. If Fowler makes you leave right away, tell Laserbeak I said 'Hey'. Got it?" I grinned.

"Yes sir!" I snapped my fingers to my forehead in an attempted military salute. He laughed again and walked back to the room where he'd been before. I returned to Fowler's side. It was then that I met the other four Autobots.

Fowler had taken it upon himself to explain my situation to everyone here without my permission, so I didn't even have a real conversation with Bulkhead, a big green robot, or Wheeljack, a large grayish-white one. I couldn't understand Bumblebee (his name explains his coloration) because he'd had his vocal processer damaged and spoke in a variety of Morse code-like beeps. Then there was Optimus Prime. Prime wasn't what you'd call bossy. He was stern, but not controlling; very different from a certain someone I was being supervised by. He seemed surprised by my defiance. I said that if someone's best friend might end up dissected by the government, they were away from home and forced to wear these stupid and uncomfortable handcuffs, who _wouldn't_ be uncooperative?

"Your best friend?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like anybody else talked to me all that much. And you can eat your words if you're going to tell me that he was just using me. He didn't ever threaten me and I don't think he intended to. If you think I'll just sit by quietly as they take him apart, you can think again." Ratchet, the red and white robot and medic, came over and told me that it was a lost cause. I asked him what he would do if he were in my position. He said he would never be in my position. "Oh yeah, that's right, you're completely perfect and you'd never bother to _take in any outsiders_ like the one in the next room."

"Barricade's not my friend."

"That's why I asked a _hypothetical_ question." Ratchet grumbled and stalked off. Part of me felt guilty and the other part said he'd been asking for it. This was a highly stressful situation for me, and if Ratchet wanted to piss off a teenage girl with a messed up life, that was his business. I talked to Prime a little more, and he seemed the most understanding out of anyone I'd talked to. I was glad that someone other than Barricade had bothered to listen to me. After that, Fowler said we had to leave. I asked if I could say goodbye to Barricade, and Fowler (unsurprisingly) said no. As we walked through the wormhole that everyone called a groundbridge, I frowned to myself. _When Barricade said "tell Laserbeak I said 'Hey'"… what did he mean by that?_ I would soon find out.

Days passed and I still refused to talk about the files. The threats got worse, but I stayed strong. I allowed myself to quietly cry at night, but I made sure the guards didn't see. Then, one day, MECH did the thing that it would regret for the rest of its existence. It attacked the base. They didn't regret it for the loss they took (though it was great); they would regret it for the diversion that it gave me. Things were about to get complicated.

The day I heard the call on the guard's radio, I had been eating a salami sandwich (it was the only thing that they gave me that I would eat). I did nothing at first, then, when I realized that nearly the entire wing was empty and that I would be evacuated, I knew that this was my chance. I pulled the sheets on my bed away from the sticking piece of metal that always poked me in the calf whenever I let my legs dangle off the bed. I hesitated. I had never done anything like this before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. But my imagination went haywire again, presenting pictures of Laserbeak dismantled on an examination table. I thrust my left arm against the metal and tried not to scream. As the blood welled up, I smeared it across my mouth to make it look like I'd coughed it up. Then I started fake-coughing. I made sure it was convincing, adding wheezing and hacking as needed. Then I gasped a few times and (very loudly) fell to the floor. It took him a second, but the guard finally noticed and came into the room. When he tried to take my pulse I was up like lightning. I hated myself for it, but I stamped on his foot and pushed him backwards. I heard the sickening crack as his ankle broke. Then I hit him over the head with his revolver. I left the gun, but took his keys, helmet and pack. I cleaned the blood off my face and the jacket covered my arm, so I appeared normal. I used the spare uniform in the pack; orange would only give me away. I cut off the bottoms of the pants (which were way too long) and the ends of the sleeves with the guard's Swiss army knife. Disguised thusly, I put on the helmet to cover my hair and hoped nobody commented on my height. I darted into the hallway and around the corner. I went in the direction I'd seen the lab scientists come from. I stopped a flustered secretary and asked (in a deeper voice than usual) where the lab was. I said I needed to retrieve a forgotten item for one of the personnel. Too worried to notice how young I was, she pointed me in the right direction and scurried away. I hurried to the lab. There was still one guy in there. I knocked on the door. He hurried over and asked "yes?" I said I had to retrieve the Decepticon and transport it away from MECH. He asked for my I.D. and I showed him the guard's. Unfortunately, there were two problems with this. First off, the guard had brown hair. Even though mine was short, as in, above my ears short, the man still noticed that mine was black. Second off, they printed the height on those things and I do not look 5'11. He was about to say something, but I cut him off by kicking him in that vulnerable area that men have. Then I scooted past him, unplugged various wires from the familiar laptop resting on the table and made a beeline for the door. The guy had started to get up again, but guys are guys, and another kick put him back on the ground, groaning and clutching his crotch. I darted through the halls looking for the room with the groundbridge. I almost tripped over someone lying on the ground as I rounded a corner. I stopped dead when I recognized Fowler. Apparently, a MECH agent had tazed him or something. I immediately asked him how to disable Laserbeak's stasis lock. At first he wouldn't tell me, but then I changed tactics.

"Look, I don't like MECH either. If you tell me how to disable this… thing…, we can help you. Please, I know where their base is. I can thwart one of the biggest projects they have. I just need to be able to get to the info Laserbeak has. How do I release him?" Fowler groaned, then told me, "keycard," and reached for his radio. I had half a mind to stop him, but I didn't. He muttered that he needed an evac, then let his hand drop again. Something occurred to me. "Can you radio the Autobot base and tell them to send Barricade to the groundbridge room here? Please? I… I've snuck into a MECH base with Laserbeak before, and Barricade helped." There were no more secrets. I was desperate. Fowler stared at me for a moment. Then he put his radio to his mouth and spoke.

"This is agent Fowler, requesting Barricade's assistance. Please bridge into the transport center. And send him alone. Trust me on this." He put it back down and frowned at me. "Happy?"

"Thanks. You'll need an evac for my room too… just warning you." I grinned at him, took his keycard I.D., then dashed away down the hall.

I ran into the transport center just as Barricade arrived. He was surprised to see me, but not shocked. I slid Fowler's keycard into the lock on the stasis machine, heard it scan and watched the magnets pop off. I set Laserbeak on the floor and held the power button. As his systems rebooted, I turned to Barricade.

"You better be ready, because we're storming their base. Not as many people will be there judging on the size of this strike. We just need a little help powering through. I didn't think the Autobots would've trusted me, so I asked Fowler to have them send you."

"Fowler _listened_ to you?"

"Either he got tazed or he's wasted. I remember where we're headed; Upper Peninsula Michigan—well good morning Sunshine!" Laserbeak had reassembled himself after I had hit the "restart normally" setting He had given me that error message that comes up when some dimwit turns off the computer by unplugging it or just holding the power button. He looked around, bewildered.

"Wh… where are we?"

"I'll explain later. Right now we need the coordinates; we're going to rescue Soundwave. Go input them." He obediently fluttered up to the keyboard and coded in the location. The groundbridge sprang to life and Laserbeak coded it to stop after twenty seconds. Nineteen. Eighteen. I didn't have time to be startled when Barricade grabbed the two of us and charged for the glowing vortex. His feet hit the entrance to the tunnel just as the portal was starting to flicker slightly and he threw himself right into the closing spot of fluorescent green. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster and my head spun. There was a sharp jolt that told me Barricade had hit the ground. And the real adventure began.

I picked apart the wiring on the headset I'd found inside the helmet; I would need to be able to communicate with my fellows so that our efforts were coordinated. Barricade was examining his hand for some reason. Then he stepped toward me and cocked his head, curious. I didn't think anything of it until he touched my left forearm and sent a bolt of searing pain up through my shoulder. I cringed and made a slight meeping noise. Laserbeak noticed the stain that was beginning to seep through my sleeve. He carefully peeled back the fabric and then took a step back in horror. The entire dorsal surface of my arm had various tendrils of blood creeping across it and very little of it had crusted over yet. The wound continued to ooze a deep shade of red.

"You're… bleeding…" croaked Laserbeak. Even Barricade seemed nervous. I tried to fight the new spike of pain brought on by the conscious realization of how bad the wound looked. Then I remembered something that seemed like forever ago.

"Occupational hazard," I said and cracked a weak smile. Barricade shook his head.

"Aww, kid, what did you _do_?" I told him of my escape. He and Laserbeak looked at me with newfound respect by the end of the story. "Kid, seriously. That… that was…" Barricade shook his head. "I don't know…" He broke off and laughed a little. "You're sure you're circuits aren't scrambled or something?" he tapped his head. I managed another smile.

"If they weren't, I wouldn't be where I am today." He laughed again. Laserbeak had started digging around in the pack.

"What do fle- humans do about wounds?" I turned to him.

"I need some fabric or… are there bandages in there somewhere?"

"What do they look like?"

"Whitish, on a roll with a piece of metal or something…"

"Found some." Laserbeak handed me a roll of bandages.

"Thanks." I started wrapping it around my arm. "Can you hold it here?" My companion placed his clawed foot on the bandages. I bound them firmly—but not tightly—around my arm. Once I reached the end of the wound, I asked Laserbeak to cut off the unused length used another of the metal pins to hold the stray end in place. "Not perfect, but it'll do." I shivered at the thought of having to get stitches once this whole ordeal was over. If I made it through it. Laserbeak finished tweaking the headset. He said Soundwave could've done it better, but that it would do. I told him Soundwave could fix it once we rescued him. Laserbeak nodded, but still seemed worried. Once we'd gotten our things together, Barricade lifted me onto his shoulder and we set off. I ate a chocolate bar from the guard's backpack as we went. Finally we reached a ridge overlooking the MECH base. This one was decidedly bigger. I glared menacingly at it. "Okay, here's the plan. Barricade, you make an entrance and we all go in at once. Then you start making a mess of their equipment as a diversion while Laserbeak and I go find Soundwave. Sound good?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" growled Barricade.

"'Course; there's not much to it. It's just simple logic."

"This would be described as a 'Hail Mary' by your kind's terms; it's dangerous."

"It'll work. Besides, do you have a better idea?"

"I think we should draw them out here and Laserbeak can go in and find Soundwave."

"And we both get killed. If there were more of us, _maybe_ that would work, but there aren't, so it's just not feasible."

"Then why didn't you ask Fowler to send the Autobots?" hissed Barricade defensively. I could tell he was used to giving orders, not taking them.

"They wouldn't have listened to _me_."

"And what made you think I would?"

"I trust you." He laughed coldly.

"So?"

"So are you with me or not?" He hesitated, seeming to weigh his options. Then he nodded slowly. Laserbeak fluttered up next to me.

I hung on to Barricade's shoulder armor as he jogged toward the MECH base. I suppressed the crazy urge to yell "cool!" when he transformed his left hand into an Energon gun. The side of the base exploded a little where he blasted it. Then he lunged, grabbed Laserbeak and me, and transformed into the cop car. I ended up in the driver's seat with Laserbeak next to me. This time, I did scream. "Hey look, no hands!" Then I had to hang on to the seat. We screeched around corners, dodging gunfire and following Laserbeak's instructions to get to the point where we would have to split up. He'd downloaded a map of the base while he'd gotten the coordinates. Finally we reached our destination and Barricade blew a hole in the wall for us to get through. Then he transformed again and drove off in the direction of the weapons depot. Laserbeak and I sprinted for the hole, climbed through it and were met with a sea of computers. A few guards started shooting at us.

"I'll hold them off and open the doors for you, keep going!" called Laserbeak. He leapt onto the control panel and lodged his claws in the USB ports. Then he whipped his tail around and shot at our pursuers. The door in front of me opened, then closed after I'd darted through it. I tore down hallways and through (previously) locked doors. Finally, the last door opened and I saw Soundwave. He wasn't moving, so I assumed that they had him in stasis. But when I climbed up to his shoulder, I saw the bigger problem. Various cables ran to where his neck connected to his body. Where the ones from his head should have connected, wires from the computer systems were inserted. Crap. I radioed Laserbeak and explained to him. I could hear gunfire in the background.

"Remove the other cables and reinsert his own!" he screeched over the comm. I did as I was told.

"He's still not waking up!" I heard Laserbeak cursing.

"You'll need to force reboot!"

"How do I do that?"

"Use the thickest cable; you need to shock it with something!"

"What?"

"I don't know, figure it the frag out!" I spotted a car battery near the wall. That would probably work. I knew I'd need the wires from my comm. I'd only get one chance at this.

_He remembered how they had possessed him. How they had used him. Stripped away bits of his armor to study. What would his leader have thought? He was furious at first, but he could do nothing to fight. It was as if he was watching footage. He only saw and heard. And then even that began to fade. He was tired now… so tired. He had given up the idea that this nightmare would ever come to an end. So when after so long he was able to move again of his own will, he could scarcely believe it. The human had mentioned Laserbeak… Did she know him? She communicated that he follow her. As if he could ever trust a human, especially after this ordeal. But this one seemed… different… and… Laserbeak… Reluctantly, he decided to go with her._

I hacked away at my helmet with my Swiss army knife. I managed to cut the wires out and linked them to the car battery. I put the cable between the negative and positive ends. It wasn't working. I adjusted it to see how far it would arc. Not far. What would make it arc farther? I hadn't taken physics yet and I was beginning to wish that freshmen could. I growled, then remembered the computer cable. Heck, that thing was _sparking_. I carefully grabbed it and wound my wire from the positive end around one of the other wires in the negative part of the computer cable (one side was marked – and the other +) and put the robot's cable between the negative end and the computer cable and (surprise surprise) it arced through the robot's neck. Unfortunately, I had my hands in bad spots, so it arced through me too. I screamed and staggered backward and fell off of Soundwave's shoulder. The room was black before I hit the floor.

I awoke about fifteen minutes later, Soundwave told me later. The ground shook a little. At first I thought it was my head, but then I saw Soundwave stalking around the room. He turned and watched me silently as I forced myself to my hands and knees, trying not to groan and ignoring the searing pain coursing through me. I'd had enough of that to last a long time. As soon as I was on my hands and knees I had a major gag reflex spasm. I fought the urge to throw up and lost. Though emptied of its contents, my stomach continued to convulse. I rolled over on my back and moaned. I gave myself a moment, then attempted to compose myself. I rolled over (slowly), and rose to my hands and knees. Then I carefully got to my feet. A storm of dizziness and nausea hit me with the force of a tidal wave, and I swayed precariously. I felt Soundwave watching me. I looked up at him, dazed. I knew I had to tell him what was going on.

"Laserbeak… with me… Tried to find you… Brought… friends… Need… escape… Follow… Please…" I wondered vaguely if this was how Laserbeak had felt when I'd first found him. I lurched toward the door. He didn't follow me. I looked back, pained and exhausted. "Please… Please…" I felt the world swimming before me and fought gravity. I swayed and nearly fell. The floor looked like a mountain range, spiky in some places and low in others. I heard a voice, highly computerized, speak.

"Problem with Systems?" My eyes slipped shut and I lost my balance completely. For a while, I felt only the throbbing pain in my chest as I breathed; the only guarantee of my consciousness. Then a few noises reverberated through the ground and something placed me back on my feet. I struggled, but ultimately failed to remain upright. I felt myself lifted again; I was virtually limp now. The same computerized voice spoke again. "Destination?" I forced my eyes open. The room swam in front of me and I pointed shakily at the door from which I'd come.

"Find… Laserbeak… Tell… Fall back…" I was carried along over to the door and by some means (I did not know; my eyes were closed) it opened. We continued down the hall until we reached another door. All was quiet, which was weird, because I somehow thought that there was a fight in there. The door sprang open and I heard a familiar voice. It spoke rapidly to Soundwave, then said something else, then called my name a few times. I opened my mouth slightly, but no words came out. I only remember being jostled around after that, and I woke up hours later in the back seat of a cop car.


	5. Chapter 5: Aftershock

**CHAPTER 5: AFTERSHOCK**

I woke up at around four in the afternoon. We were on a highway; I this knew from the lull of the white noise of tires on road. I lifted my head and felt exhaustion race from my neck to every inch of me. My head dropped to the seat again and I whined quietly to myself.

"You awake back there?" A low voice asked. I tried to remember who it was. Who did I know that was a police officer? My classmate's uncle… No, not him… Who do I know who has a cop car… who _is_ a cop car. Now I remembered.

"B… B… Barricade…" It required massive effort to speak. I could barely move my mouth; though my mind was mainly conscious.

"I'll take that as a yes. What hurts?" I wasn't aware of any pain at all, just the fuzziness of semi-awareness.

"N… Nothing…" The radio turned on and a voice crackled across the static.

"Wrim? Wrim? Barricade, is she awake?"

"Yeah, she's up. She can't really talk; I think she hears you though, Laserbeak." I made a weak 'mmm hmmm' sound. Laserbeak. Where did I know that name from…? For some reason I was thinking about computers all of a sudden… "I'm sure she'll have more to say when she's feeling better," Barricade was saying. The radio connection went off. There was silence for a bit. "…You doin' all right back there? Soundwave said you threw up. If you feel nauseous just say…" he remembered that I could barely talk. "Um… Well, don't puke, alright?" Soundwave. That name. Things were slowly coming back. Something about feeling really bad… A gray room with a lot of machinery… I remembered something else. I groaned. "What's wrong?" asked Barricade anxiously.

"Math… homework… due Monday…" Barricade paused for a moment.

"School's out Wrim," he said finally. "It's June." Confused, I retreated to my thoughts. But Barricade interrupted them. "Look… do you remember? About what just happened?" I said nothing, but he sensed my fear. "Oh… Well look, it'll come back… Or at least it'd better."

"…Promise?" I needed a guarantee.

"Uh, okay. I promise." I felt somehow relieved of a burden.

"Can… Can I… sleep?"

"Go ahead." My mouth twisted into a smile. I hoped I'd be better later. I closed myself off from the rest of the world and let the darkness claim my mind once more.


	6. Chapter 6: I meet my best friend's boss

**CHAPTER 6: I MEET MY BEST FRIEND'S BOSS**

It was around nine o' clock when I woke up again. We were still on the road. My first question was no longer 'what', it was 'where'. I tried to sit up, but that didn't work, so I put my back up against the door.

"Feeling any better?" came the question. I went through a mental checklist, clacked my teeth a few times and moved my tongue around. Everything seemed to be working.

"Much. Where are we?"

"Highway in Wisconsin. After you fell asleep again there was terrible traffic." I snickered. "Glad you're feeling all right." I smiled.

"Thanks." My thoughts flashed back to a time that seemed like five minutes ago. "Where're Soundwave and Laserbeak?" Barricade paused for a moment, and for a minute I thought I was missing something. I would mysteriously forget my amnesia. Barricade would fill me in on it later.

"They're… somewhere safe." I knew he meant where the government couldn't get them. "But anyway, what happened to you? Soundwave told me he rebooted and you were passed out on the floor. Then you woke up and…"

"Yeah, yeah, I threw up. Big deal. When I was rebooting Soundwave I got shocked with like a bazillion amps or something. It was painful… to say the least." I explained everything that happened from the point that Barricade had left to destroy the weapons depot. He was a little confused at the point where I passed out, but figured it out. We got stuck in another traffic jam and pulled over to a rest stop. A milk tanker had spilled all over both sides of the road, and clearly no one was going anywhere until the biohazard team cleaned it up. I bought some fruit snacks, pretzels and a water bottle, and ate my snack on the curb. Then I demanded (a ways off the road mind you) that Barricade point out the galaxy he was from because you could see the stars really well here. He said he couldn't find it. I think he was just too lazy.

I trotted after Barricade's moving form. He had gestured that I follow him, so I was doing my best to keep up. I was exhausted and he was antsy; a bad combination for staying together. Twice he had to stop and wait for me to catch up. His strides were also significantly longer than my own due to his size, so he covered ground faster. Once we were far enough into to woods, we found a clearing. At which point, Barricade radioed to Soundwave that it was safe to arrive. It took a few minutes, but soon an unmanned drone rocketed across the sky. I retreated behind Barricade, fearing recapture by the government, but he just laughed and told me to wait. The drone reappeared, dropped low, and came apart. The pieces reassembled themselves into a somewhat familiar form; I really hadn't gotten a good look at him before. Soundwave was taller than Barricade and leaner than him too—not a difficult feat; Barricade was short and barrel-chested. I gingerly stepped forward, eyes combing the area for Laserbeak, but I could find no sign of my friend. I felt bad about it, but I was also searching for an excuse not to maintain eye contact with Soundwave—he had no real face; or if he did it was well hidden—he was a little unnerving. His feet, (unlike Barricade's boot-shaped hind limbs) were flat and two-toed; not quite cloven though, they didn't curve inwards toward each other. There were other differences between the two robots: Soundwave was far less talkative, mainly emotionless and slightly more dignified. Barricade was extremely forceful and bossy when he interacted with uncooperative beings, yet Soundwave did not require such means. He had a way of asking (like it wasn't even a question) and looming that was just as demanding as Barricade's "bad cop" demeanor. Now, the former walked towards me, cocking his head slightly in what might've been curiosity. He moved in such a way that it seemed as if he was liquid, unlike Barricade's choppier motions. I sensed much more experience and an entirely different skill set lurking behind the mask. The robot leaned forward slightly, and some of his chest armor retracted to reveal a shallow chamber. From the edge of this area, a silver mass uncoiled itself and sprang down to the ground. It stretched its wings and straightened. I recognized my companion immediately.

"Laserbeak!" Soundwave's armor had slid back into place, and he stepped back to observe as I greeted my friend. The metallic bird carefully brushed his head up against my hand in greeting.

"Wrim, good to see you," he said in his gravelly voice. "We owe you our lives. We make good on our debt, I hope you know that." I smiled at him.

"I'm particularly selfless, I hope you know that. There isn't much I want in return," I replied. Soundwave had moved up behind Laserbeak while we were talking. He took a step forward and seemed to examine me for a moment.

"Systems back on line? Functioning properly?" His voice was an eerie monotone. But I could sense the slight concern that was the cause of his inquiry.

"From what I understand, yeah, I'm all right. Oh, and just so you understand, humans don't say 'systems', we refer to all our collective body systems as a whole. We would say, '_are __**you**__ all right'_." He seemed confused, but made and effort to understand.

"Your language… challenging to interpret…" I grinned.

"Aww heck, even I think it's stupid sometimes. It's based off of like, a whole bunch of different ancient languages anyway. Greek, Latin and who knows what else…" Laserbeak interrupted.

"Master, what will we do with her; she cannot return home or she will be captured again." Fear swept through me. The thought of not ever being able to see my family again was a dark one. Soundwave turned to Barricade.

"Barricade: possesses superior knowledge of situation. Recommendation?" The shorter robot shifted.

"I… suppose I could talk to the Autobots about it… but if they get so much as the slightest hint that I know where she is… it's over. Perhaps you should take her somewhere safe… where you cannot be detected, even by me; for her safety and your own. Are there any other members of our forces who have established even crude bases?"

"Results of search scattered; inconclusive. Unable to provide reliable transmission code." I shivered slightly and Laserbeak leaned against me the way a dog would.

"Wrim, don't worry, we'll find you a way to go home. If anyone can do it, it's Master. My brothers can protect you if necessary."

"…brothers?"

"Yes, brothers; I have three. Rumble, Ravage and Ratbat." I smirked.

"Too many R's." The small creature cocked his head at me curiously.

"I don't follow."

"Their names all start with R."

"Oh." Soundwave interrupted.

"Require reliable means of transport; vehicle mode insufficient. Ravage: activate." His armor slid back again and a much larger mass leapt out and reconfigured itself into what appeared to be a massive cougar. Unlike the other robots, Ravage was particularly intimidating because you could see his teeth. And they were huge. The cat prowled over to me and circled me twice.

"Master, why is there a fleshling among us?" Something about that word, "fleshling", disturbed me. Soundwave was answering his charge.

"Life-form is current ally. Will be protected." I almost said something regarding the way they referred to me; as if I wasn't there or I wasn't sentient, but Laserbeak spoke for me.

"Her designation is Wrim, Master. Her species is _homo Sapian_, or human." I wanted to hug him, but he was too spiny.

"Information accepted. Ravage: will refer to human as Wrim." I felt relieved. "Laserbeak: return. Ravage: Will transport Wrim to location presented."

"Affirmative, Master," growled Ravage. Laserbeak stepped toward Soundwave.

"Ravage will protect you, Wrim; don't worry." I smiled at him. Then my friend leapt onto Soundwave's chest and fitted himself into his location below his master's armor. The tall robot sprang into the air, transformed into the spy drone and flew off. Ravage stalked over next to me. Slightly unnerved by my new protector, I looked back at Barricade.

"Kid, go with Ravage. He'll meet up with Soundwave somewhere safe. I have to go back and talk to the Autobots. Keep yourself hidden. If you need anything, don't be afraid to mention it to Soundwave, don't worry, he doesn't bite. Ravage might though." He flashed me a grin, then disappeared off in the direction we had come. Which left me alone with the massive cat.

"Best means of transportation would be my vehicle mode. Let's go." Ravage reassembled himself into a dark gray off-road vehicle. I hesitated. "We don't have time for this. Get on and let's get away from here. They'll have the Autobots here searching for us in no time." I got the feeling that Ravage didn't have much respect for me. I also got the feeling that he had known Soundwave longer than Laserbeak. I reluctantly approached Ravage. He wouldn't respect me unless I deserved it. I climbed on and we were off.


	7. Chapter 7: I live a fugitive movie

**CHAPTER 7: I LIVE A FUGITIVE MOVIE**

I had not ever ridden an off-road vehicle before that point. It wasn't necessarily hard, but it could be frightening at times. I almost fell off a few times. Ravage wasn't very pleased.

"Do you believe this to be a joyride?"

"No."

"Then for Spark's sake, hang on." That rubbed me the wrong way, but I didn't show it. Once we got to the base of the nearest foothill, I asked Ravage where we were going. "Someplace remote."

"What am I supposed to eat then?" Ravage paused.

"…Eat?" The fact that my physical needs had not been taken into account agitated me even more.

"Yes, eat. Humans need a constant supply of food and water to stay alive." Ravage was silent for a moment, then changed course. His refusal to inform me what was going on coupled with low blood sugar was making me very irritable. I missed Laserbeak.

Hours later, Ravage and I arrived at the outskirts of a small town.

"Get what you need."

"I don't have very much money."

"What?"

"You have to _buy_ food, Ravage. I have fifteen dollars. That might be enough for a day's worth of food." Ravage snarled.

"Well, where do your kind get money then?"

"You don't _get_ it, you have to _earn_ it, but I can't because I'll be seen."

"So humans without money have no food and starve."

"Unfortunately. It sounds about as stupid as it is." Ravage paused.

"What is the longest period a human can go without food?" I did _not_ like where this conversation was going.

"We're capable of lasting a month or so, but we get tired, sick and start hallucinating."

"Get what you can. You'll have to deal with the rest."

I returned about twenty minutes later. I'd gotten a Jumbo box of cheerios, a pack of fruit cups, and two water bottles. That was it. I figured it would last a little while if I didn't eat it all at once. I'd told the suspicious storeowner that I was coming from someone's zombie apocalypse-themed birthday party and my mom had made me go shopping on the way home. Surprisingly, he bought it.

I met up with Ravage at the edge of town. He didn't seem impressed. I said nothing, only climbed on and let him drive off. It took hours to get where we were going; we were deep in the woods and nowhere near civilization of any sort. I finally spotted Soundwave high on the mountainside. Ravage instructed that I hang on. I hoped he wouldn't try to climb the rock face in RV mode; that was suicide. Then again, I wasn't sure if he knew anything about suicide either.

It turned out that Ravage did know about suicide. He wasn't too keen on it—well, his own anyway. This left me clinging to his back for dear life while he clawed his way up the cliff in robot mode. He was about the size of a large rhinoceros or small elephant. His back was very spiny and only a small patch—where the seat of his vehicle mode had lodged over his upper back between his shoulder blades—was even remotely suitable for me to cling to. Unfortunately for me, he did not realize this and I ended up hanging by the tips of my fingers whenever he was vertically splayed out against the cliff face; which was at least 80% of the time. By the time we reached Soundwave, my knuckles were white and there were pressure marks on the bottoms of my fingers from all of my weight being pressed on them. I realized I was still grimacing even after we were (thankfully) horizontal again. I had to rub my face in order to relax the muscles that were still contracted under the skin.

"We are _never_ doing that again, are we clear Ravage?" He didn't seem to hear me. Being around him was infuriating. He seemed to refuse to accept that I, like him, was a fully conscious and sentient being capable of abstract thought, emotions and anything else he might come up with short of surviving space without protection or going extended periods of time without nourishment. But I was resourceful enough; I'd find something once my stash ran out. I shuddered. The concept of "if" was no longer one I took into account. I would be here a while. Most likely a _long_ while.

The third day into my "adventure" had started with hunger, as had the second day. I had been sleeping most of the time, and when I wasn't asleep, I was talking to Laserbeak—who was scouting for possible food sources—or rationing myself some Cheerios and water. I was beginning to deeply resent the manufacturers of Cheerios due to the fact that the box is not completely filled with the substance in question; only about 2/3 of the way. This left me, after doing nothing but opening the box, with an amount of food I would have hoped to have left after two days. It had now been said two days, and I was already down to half the box. Crap. I hadn't touched the fruit cups on account of their lasting longer than the slightly more perishable Cheerios. Laserbeak was beginning to notice my restlessness; When I went to sleep, I shifted positions endlessly; having had been present in my room as my laptop for some time, he had become aware of my usual sleep patterns, and these were markedly different. The main problem was lack of food and exercise. In order to conserve calories, I had slowed down and reduced my activity. This left me antsy and hungry; not an ideal combination for sleep. With the dusk of the fifth day, I had eaten one fruit cup and nearly had indigestion from the sudden shock of sugar to my systems. I curled up in a back corner of the shallow cave that was our hideout and tried not to whimper. Laserbeak, aware of all these changes in behavior, mood and sleep, would talk to me to make sure I was all right. Soundwave seemed less concerned. Ravage was outright oblivious. I would've been angry, but I didn't have that kind of energy left.

I lost count of the days somewhere around eight or nine. I didn't care anymore. My job became _stay alive until you can go home_. It became a cruel task, having to sit through every day. Soundwave seemed to notice more changes in me; I was listless and uninterested in any of my fellow refugees. I hadn't even spoken to Ratbat, the somewhat curious 'brother' of Laserbeak who had come over and surveyed me a few times. Ratbat was capable of picking up any sort of radio waves, and therefore was often perched atop the mountain, attempting to discover any encrypted messages from Barricade or the Autobots. I still had yet to see Rumble. Soundwave was out one day when the small winged robot fluttered into the cave. Ravage was left to guard me, but wasn't particularly interested in being near me, so was out at the entrance to the cave. Ratbat looked a bit like the second of his two namesakes; large, earlike concave ovals rested atop his head and acted like satellite dishes. When he splayed out his wings they caught waves too. He nudged me with his shiny nose; Ratbat was far less spiny than his brothers. I turned over and asked him what the problem was. He said he had a message from Barricade. Soundwave had searched the connection and would transmit the answer from an alternate location so as to prevent us being found, and would like to know whether I would like to add anything to the existing message. The 'existing message' were our terms regarding coming forward.

"Yes… I want the boys and Fowler to know that I'm not angry at them, I just have a low opinion of them now. An estimate of how low includes various exponents and the depth of the Marianna trench. Can you tell them that?"

"Yes of course… How are you feeling?" I sighed. I was so tired of that question.

"I feel god-awful and I want to eat something so badly I might just ask Ravage to go rob a store, and I just want this to be over. Don't put that in the message."

"I didn't intend to." I felt a little bad for snapping, but one only has so much patience on a perpetually empty stomach. And I had major moodiness issues that came with low blood sugar. Ratbat flapped up to the top of the mountain to relay the response to Soundwave. I just hoped that the government would take my wry sense of humor to mean that I was faring well and not half as desperate as I was. And I hoped my parents weren't too worried either. This had gotten out of control.

Some number of days later we had our response; the government would comply with our wishes and would not imprison us. Soundwave, his crew and I would be heading to a location to meet up with the Autobots so that they could groundbridge us back to their base. I was hoping that they'd have a sandwich or at least some bread that I could eat once we got there. However, I faced a perilous climb down the cliff with Ravage again. I expressed my concern that I might not be capable of hanging on in my current state, so Laserbeak and Ratbat airlifted me to the bottom. Had I been feeling any less lightheaded, I might've enjoyed it. I have no idea how long we spent getting there, all I know is that I spent some duration of time on Ravage's back. Soundwave was waiting for us at the fluorescent green portal that led back to the Autobot base. I didn't think much, just followed Ravage into its swirling depths. It wasn't much of a welcoming committee. The Autobots pointed their weapons at us for a little while, I clung to Ravage and avoided the pushy woman who was apparently some friend of the Autobots and refused to go to the hospital without Laserbeak by my side 24/7. It took some serious dodging to get the response I wanted; she kept saying "all right" but I knew she didn't mean it. Only after Barricade had a conversation with the lot of them did they agree to allow my companion to accompany me. Soundwave deployed the metallic creature, and he shifted to laptop mode so that I could carry him with me. I asked this "Mrs. Darby" person where exactly I was being taken, but she only said "the hospital". That was irritating; I had no idea _which_ hospital in _what_ state and how far away from home I was. The next day was less of a blur; I sat with Laserbeak and discussed my lifestyle choices. In the end, we came to the conclusion that no matter what I would've done, I had been pretty much screwed from the moment I had let Laserbeak into the house. But that was perfectly fine with me; I could handle screwed. Just so long as it involved food.


	8. Chapter 8: My parents get debriefed

**CHAPTER 8: MY PARENTS GET DEBREIFED**

As is dead obvious, my parents were _not_ happy with the world. Quite the opposite. Who could believe. Though the both of them were furious, my father had been particularly hostile. I was later informed by a guard that he had been clearly audible five or six hallways down. _Yup, that's dad,_ I thought. After several "_Where the fuck is my daughter?!"_'s to which he was provided no answer, he had stomped across the room and let loose a screaming fit the likes of which agent Fowler had never heard before. I was so proud. I was dismayed, however, that my parents were still unaware of anything that had happened to me, so Laserbeak and I came up with a step-by-step checklist involving how to contact them; not a problem for a master hacker and a crafty child.

_Step 1: Hack hospital wi-fi_

_Step 2: Hack the nearest radio tower_

_Step 3: Through the radio tower, establish a connection to the nearest military base and get Soundwave's help to distract them while Laserbeak finds out where they have my parents_

_Step 4: Get Ratbat to sneak into said base through the groundbridge and hack the security systems_

_Step 5: Video-chat with my parents through the security system_

The idea went well, but Laserbeak and I got stuck on step three; Soundwave was not granted access to the system (for several obvious reasons) so we had no way to achieve access. At which point, we decided to go with plan B. Whatever the hell that was.

Our solution involved Bart. Bart was one of two military guards that loomed outside my door so as to keep me in check. The other hadn't spoken to me, but Bart had told me that the other man's name was Lyle. I called him Croc. Croc and Bart had alternating shifts, which was a good thing, because if Croc had been around to see what Bart allowed me to do he'd have gone raving mad. Bart was far more lenient than his coworker, and let me do things like roam the halls (as long as he was with me) and get ice cream from the snack shop downstairs. Bart also had no fear of Laserbeak, so would chat with the metallic bird. I had a feeling that Laserbeak intimidated Croc. It was this sort of respect that led to the strange radio connection that triggered just as Agent Fowler was briefing my parents on the fact that my current location was still not available to them. To be honest, I felt a little bad for getting my favorite guard in trouble, but I wanted very badly to speak to my parents, and Bart was the only way I was going to be able to do that.

Bart had let me mess around with his radio before, but today was different. Today I realized that the device I held in my hand could be rerouted. I immediately sent Laserbeak to the roof to contact Soundwave and inform him of our ingenious plan. Through Soundwave and Ratbat, we could redirect Bart's radio to Fowler, and I could threaten him if he didn't pass it along to my parents. The last bit was uncertain, but reflected my desperation. It was one of few of my plans that turned out better than it had seemed on paper. Bart didn't care what we used his radio for, and that was a little strange, but we made use of it. Laserbeak routed the signal to Ravage, who routed it to Soundwave, who routed it to Ratbat. Ratbat had already been tracking down my parents, so was at close range. When Laserbeak received the all-clear, I pressed the talk button.

"Hello Agent Fowler, I have a question regarding the parents of the fugitive. How are they coping?" I made my voice unnaturally dull and flat. It was fun messing with Fowler; I wondered what he was thinking.

"Who is this?" I looked at Laserbeak for help, and my companion mouthed "outlandish". I got his meaning.

"This is Mr. Leo Bugner of the Department of Psychological and Neurological treatment, care and hypnotism of prisoners, suspects, officers and bureaucrats based in Hudson, New Jersey; Richmond, Virginia and New Brunswick, Nevada. We also have offices in Canada and Guam. We have the permission of… General Watoga… to inquire about the parents of the fugitive Wrim Waterdiek. What is their status?" Frankly I had no idea what half of what I had just said was, but I hoped the fact that I had actually bothered to specify names (though they were fake) would lead Fowler to believe that I was who I said I was.

"How did you get this frequency?"

"Oh, we had one of our… specialists… connect us directly to you." The best lies are somewhat the truth. That made me think of Barricade and thrust a stake of loneliness through my chest. I hadn't spoken to him in weeks. I had been too delirious at the base to have a decent conversation with anyone.

"Well, I happen to be standing in front of the parents right now. What did you want to ask?" My heart leapt. Laserbeak nodded. Time to spring the trap.

"If you could just allow them each to speak their name into the radio to confirm their identities…" A chill ran down my spine as I heard my parents each say their names.

"Now what was the point of that Mr. Leo?"

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" I cried happily into the mic. I knew from the static crackling I'd heard emitting from Fowler's radio the day I'd escaped that the volume was loud enough for passersby to hear. There was dead silence on the other end. "Fowler, give them the goddam radio so I can talk to them properly." I felt his hesitation and shock.

"Wh… what? No! Listen, is this…?" He got cut off and my dad's voice snapped and popped across the fuzzy connection.

"Wrim? Wrim are you all right? Oh my God, where are you?" I almost cried.

"I dunno, a hospital somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Don't worry though, I'm fine. I've got a bodyguard and a couple of security officers keeping an eye on me. This is a radio that belongs to one of them; say hi!" I held up the radio to the man who'd been so kind as to provide me with the means to speak to my parents.

"Um, hey." Bart didn't usually say much.

"Oh yeah, Dad, and that laptop you bought me was the best thing I ever got, did I tell you that? His name's Laserbeak and he's my bodyguard; say hi Laserbeak."

"Hello Mister and Missus Waterdiek, it is a pleasure to finally speak with you. I can assure you that your daughter is completely safe in my presence and that it is my goal to prevent as little ill from befalling her as possible. I must apologize for the fuzzy reception though; it happens to be storming between our 'specialist' and his helper's outpost, which is disrupting the waves." Unfortunately that was when Fowler composed himself and took the radio back.

"Alright, that's _enough_ Miss Wrim!" No way was I finished.

"Fowler you asshole, I still haven't talked to my mom! Are you gonna deny me that? Huh? Huh? Put her on the line, _right now_."

"No, I've had quite enough of you…"

"Take the radio again Dad!" There was some scuffling, and we waited for about two minutes. Then my parents' voices crackled across the static again.

"Wrim, it's me," my mom said. "Are you all right; has anything happened to you?"

"Um, other than hiding out in the woods for a few weeks, not really…" I decided that it was probably best to leave Soundwave, Barricade and the attack on the MECH base out of the equation until I could talk to them properly. "Oh, but I've got a few new friends that I'll tell you about when I see you. And there isn't any kind of 'government privacy' shit that'll keep me from telling my own parents what's happened to me Agent Fowler! If you think otherwise then go ahead and try me. Oh, and you're a douche. Got that?" I was satisfied with my insults for now. No need for _extreme_ obscenities. "Love you Mom, love you Dad, curse you Fowler!"

"We love you too honey, see you soon!" Laserbeak dropped the connection. A fresh wave of loneliness swept over me. Laserbeak cocked his head at me.

"I believe I understand your relationship with your parents now. It is… similar… to that between myself and Soundwave, am I correct?"

"Sort of... But it's a different kind of bond." I turned to Bart. "Maaaaan, thanks so much for lending me your radio; that was the best thing you could've done for me. You're awesome Bart. Really." The guard smiled sheepishly, then left to change shifts. I owed Bart a lot. He had given me the one thing everyone else, despite their meaning well and care, had denied me. Freedom. And I needed that more than anything else.

Bart was never again stationed at my door, but I was sure they couldn't fire him. I was sure because I made it my mission to outwit every other guard I had. Several of them tried to steal Laserbeak while he was in laptop mode and the two of us were "asleep." That didn't go over well with us. They ended up at gunpoint while I radioed their supervisor to report bad behavior. I'd get a new guard the next day. I never bothered to try to escape, I just liked proving to all of these dimwits that you shouldn't mess with a kid and a computer with a gun. The more guards I went through, the more arrogant they got. Until Jimmy. His actual name was James, but I called him Jimmy. There was no reasoning in this, which was exactly why I liked it. I'm logical person, but every so often I need a break from the daily grind. Jimmy thought he was hot stuff—in more ways than one. He would glance seductively at the nurses (who frowned in return) and frequently had his sleeves rolled up so that the tattoo of a bear on his right upper arm and the vicious scar that ran from the back of his left shoulder to his left elbow were visible. He also talked to me like I was seven. I repeatedly had to talk myself out of hitting him over the head with my food tray. I was out of patience by the second day, and Laserbeak and I decided to get him into the most trouble we possibly could. I sensed my days at the hospital were coming to a close; my arm had healed and my recent demonstrations of my capabilities when I was around Laserbeak were bound to be making the government nervous. I knew they'd separate us soon. So we decided to let Jimmy take the heat of my escape. I thought up the plan in five minutes. Laserbeak sent a signal to Ravage to come and get us, and a signal to Soundwave that we were coming. As soon as we saw the ATV parked below our window, Laserbeak nodded to me and slipped out the door. I heard Jimmy hollering at him and running down the hall. Laserbeak radioed that Ravage begin the plan, and the ATV reassembled itself into the huge metallic cat, and started climbing up the side of the building. I was surprised that he didn't so much as scratch the brick. I stuffed everything I might need into my backpack (which Laserbeak had brought along from the base) and watched Ravage take the screen off. He didn't even tear it. His teeth simply pulled the screen away. Brilliant; now it would seem as if I'd escaped with no Cybertronian help, and get Jimmy into even more trouble while my allies remained a secret. I opened the window and carefully climbed out onto his shoulder and grabbed hold of the familiar seat. We were six floors up. Ravage leapt six floors down. He gracefully absorbed the shock as we landed, and I was about to climb off of his back to let him transform when he growled "don't bother" and bounded off. Laserbeak caught up with us about 20 minutes later, unscathed. The both of us chuckled at our escape and at the chewing out that Jimmy was going to get.


	9. Chapter 9: Component

**The cheesiest ending you will ever read. I'm so sorry... I spend so long writing these that I don't get to practice ending them...**

**CHAPTER 9: COMPONENT**

Barricade met us at an old abandoned airport. He was quite happy to see us. Ravage simply let me off, and then melted into the darkness. I greeted Barricade and on the ride to the Autobot base I filled him in on my time in the hospital. I decided that, if I could help it, I was _never_ going back to one of those places again. Laserbeak and I had chosen the Autobot Base for three reasons. First of all, where else were we supposed to go? I'd had quite enough of camping. Second off, I liked the Autobots and their human friends were about my age, so maybe we'd get along. Thirdly, one could argue that the Autobots would be the best supervision that I could get, so the government wouldn't have anywhere more secure to put us. And I planned to behave anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. Fowler was waiting for us at the base. Barricade grumbled something in Cybertronian, transformed, and set me down. I got a few astonished looks from Fowler and the kids.

"Wait a minute, that didn't make you sick?" I frowned. It was the girl that had spoken. She had black hair like me with pink highlights and pigtails.

"Um, no…"

"Awesome! You must've ridden every roller coaster ever!" I laughed.

"Me? Roller coasters? Nope, never. By the way, where is this?"

"You don't know?" This answer came from the taller boy, the one that had helped interrogate me.

"Uh, _no_. Man, I haven't been given any respect since Fat Guy over there stole Laserbeak and kinda _ruined my life_!" Fowler glared at me.

"Government protocol." I wrinkled my nose. I couldn't bring myself to apologize for the various things I'd called him; he'd put me through far worse.

"Whatever." Fowler stared me down. "You're not gonna ship me off to some penitentiary, are you? Did it occur to you that perhaps if you confronted me like a civil person, then maybe I would cooperate? So if you'll let me be, then I'll tell you whatever I'm doing. And you know, I missed a whole two months of Driver's Ed 'cause of all the crap about escaping you all, so what are you going to do about it?" The Autobots and Fowler stared for a moment. I huffed. "Well, while you figure that out, where do I put my stuff?"

"No one said you're staying here." The response came from the red and white robot. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Tough luck buddy. Where else do you suggest they take me? And if you so much as _whisper_ the word "prison" in any form than let me tell you, we'll be gone faster than a bolt of lightning." Truthfully, I had no idea where else I could go, but I couldn't let them know that. Unfortunately, the blue female robot called my bluff.

"Gone to where? The woods again?" I said nothing for a moment; I was in the midst of a vicious battle with tears. The combination of stress and painful memories was becoming too much for me. Fowler took a step toward me and I instantly assumed a defensive position. Hot liquid dribbled down my face. I hated myself for showing weakness, but there was little I could do. I bared my teeth, molten rage and frustration swimming around in my head. It took me a moment to regain my composure.

"Very funny," I snapped, still focused on Fowler. His eyes were cold and determined, and he radiated the attitude of someone holding a gun.

"Listen, you have nowhere to go and if you want us to leave you alone…" I cut him off with a sharp snarl of fury and agony.

"No! I am _not_ going to listen to you! All you've done is make things _worse_! You haven't listened to what _I_ have to say, and I know this time won't be any different! You've locked me in a room someplace I don't know, threatened to kill my friend, kept me away from my parents, and accused _me_ of being the bad guy! If it's going to be like that again, then maybe I _should've_ starved to death in the woods; you know why? Because _anything_ is better than what you've put me through!" A harsh silence resounded through the room. My voice cracked with pain. "How can I trust you after you've taken away everything that was ever important to me? I'll have _nothing left_ if you lock me up now. Nothing." Fowler simply looked at me, which only made me angrier. "You broke me. _Are you happy now_?!" I felt as if my jaws were dripping with all the venom that had seeped into me during my time as a prisoner and fugitive. "And I don't care if you know I'm weak. You'd have figured it out anyway. I'm tired of all this shit about hiding and running and having no say in my life! And _you_ are the one who caused all of it!"

"…you're not weak, Wrim." I twisted around and spotted Cliff standing back by the wall. _What the hell…?_ "You're the strongest person I know." I stared at him for a moment. "Boss said it might be easier on you if I came instead of my brothers. Besides," he added, a sly smile creeping over his face, "I wanted to check up on you. You have quite the reputation these days." Realization crept into my mind. The two blond men that had followed me; they must've been Cliff's older brothers. He'd mentioned them once or twice, but never told me what they did. "It got lonely without you around. Nobody to keep me out of the freezer." I fought a raging battle in my head. Perhaps the government was actually trying to be nice. But it was far more likely that this was an emotional tag to try to get me to surrender. And though I wanted the easy way out so badly that it hurt, I decided that I'd made it this far. Too far to give in. I cast him a suspicious and apologetic look. But the one he shot back at me made my chest surge with pride. The facial expression he answered me with was one I rarely saw. It meant 'you're right.' _Go on, you know this,_ his eyes seemed to whisper. I furrowed my brow. I had come so far… I turned to face Fowler, a dark determination in my eyes. It locked with his. His was cold as ice, mine like fire. Like hope. _Hope; how could I have lost hope when I was this far already?_ Fowler continued to stare at me.

"So tell me," I said savagely, "how you can call me the villain after what you've done. I used to judge by sides, but I don't do that anymore. And my allies are a lot more hospitable than you."

"The fact still stands that they are Decepticons."

"Their cause no longer exists. And you know it. There's a new enemy now. And I think these guys could be a whole lot of help to you if you'd quit being so paranoid." Fowler seemed to be examining me.

"I see…" I cocked my head at him.

"What are you afraid of? Megatron is dead. There's nowhere else for them to go. And it's a hard life out there, avoiding MECH all alone. They'd probably be willing to join up with you. And judging by MECH's arsenal, this might take a while. It isn't as if they'll turn on you once MECH is destroyed. Do you know anyone you've fought beside for an extended period of time that would do that unprovoked?" Suddenly, I had their attention. I wondered why until a new Autobot, one I hadn't seen before, spoke up.

"Wait… Megatron's _dead_? Since when?" I looked at him, confused.

"Since like months ago. That's why the cause disintegrated."

"How do you know?"

"What do you mean how do I know—he's dead. What else is there to know?"

"How did he die?" I noticed Optimus Prime wasn't saying anything. He knew.

"Um _duh_, he kind of got into it with a few of MECH's 'pets'. Unfortunately for him, MECH has a few traitorous 'Cons that have been helping them. Kinda how Soundwave ended up their guinea pig." Fowler cut me off.

"Are you saying that Megatron has been dead for months and I didn't know about it?" Optimus spoke up.

"There are… other factors involved, agent Fowler. I will explain at a later time." I interrupted.

"Okay. So we can do this the way everybody's happy, or we can do this the hard way and you'll have to chase us all around the world. Which option would you prefer? I honestly don't think you need any more enemies right now." Fowler was about to say something, but Prime cut him off.

"I believe that the child and her companions will be valuable allies to have in the battles to come. It is best if she were to be allowed to remain free." Fowler stared at Prime for a moment, then nodded.

"The Decepticons are your enemies, not mine I suppose. Do what you're going to." My heart leapt.

"I just have one question for you Mr. Fowler; can I get paid to do this?" My smiling eyes set the mood for the answer.

"We'll see." I nudged Barricade's ankle.

"So, are you gonna be willing to put up with me?" He cocked his head at me.

"Wrim, you're bossy and somewhat insane. Why on earth I would _want_ to be around you, I don't know. But for some reason, it sounds like it might actually get things done." I grinned ear-to ear. Cliff smiled.

"So I guess we're on the same page now, Wu-rimmy."

"Not if you keep saying my name like that. How long did you know about Laserbeak?"

"I didn't; I just knew something was up when my brothers' van showed up and they didn't talk to me."

"Hmph."

"I'm serious."

"Have you always worked for them?"

"Some time now."

"How many yogurts did you steal from the freezer?"

"I left you two."

"Oh real nice."

I could tell that from here on out, things would be crazy and stressful and ridiculous. But I was a real player in the scheme of things now, and I was determined to do what I could. Laserbeak had reassembled himself.

"Wrim, I greatly look forward to spending time with you without being hassled." I beamed.

"Same to you, friend."


	10. Afterword

**AFTERWORD**

**4 years later**

Barricade:

Hey, good to be able to talk to you; even if it is via an encrypted letter.

College is going well; I've decided to major in English. Everything else is a pushover with Laserbeak around; that form for me to be able to bring him everywhere pays off.

A couple of students have asked me about my military backpack; they're even more surprised to hear I'm enlisted. 'Course, I can't tell them what division, so I generally say 'Special Operations'. It's funny; this other student called Markus comes up to me and goes "I didn't take you for the military type". I just laughed and said "you have no idea".

I'm looking forward to accompanying you on more missions once Thanksgiving rolls around and I can come home; I miss the high speed and plotting. Hopefully the drones haven't scratched you up too badly, and that whatever injuries you may or may not have sustained are treated by Ratchet.

I'll hopefully see you and Soundwave soon; I'm itching to know what I've been missing.

Your crazy friend,

W. Waterdiek

**EDIT**

Author's note: Hey, thanks to everybody who read this; really glad you liked it ^^!


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